White House distances Trump from $13.1 million reflecting pool project

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation has become a case study in how a flashy federal project can move from public promise to opaque contracting, swollen costs and fresh scrutiny over who benefits. A White House spokeswoman said Donald Trump was not involved in selecting Greenwater Services, the business owned by a trust led by John J. Cafaro, even as the no-bid work drew questions about whether politically connected firms were being favored.

The project began in April and was finished in early June, part of Trump’s push to spruce up Washington ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations on July 4, 2026. Federal contracting records showed Green Water Solutions received $1.7 million to install an ozone nanobubbling system meant to keep the pool algae-free, while Atlantic Industrial Coatings won a separate $14.2 million contract to line the pool in “American Flag Blue.” The total cost climbed to about $13.1 million, far above Trump’s earlier public estimate of about $1.5 million and more than seven times the $1.8 million he later said it would cost.

The speed and scale of the awards intensified criticism of the procurement process. Public Citizen filed Freedom of Information Act requests on May 12, 2026, saying the project fit a pattern of no-bid, high-cost Trump pet projects and raising concerns about the lack of transparency around the contracting. The next day, Rep. Joe Neguse pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the Atlantic Industrial contract during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing. Burgum said he was not familiar with the company and defended the process.

Trump’s own account has shifted. He first said he had a man who was “unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” then later said he did not know the contractor and had never used him before. Sen. Richard Blumenthal later opened a probe into the no-bid contract and the ballooning costs, arguing that Atlantic Industrial did not appear to have obvious qualifications for the job.

The controversy deepened when algae appeared within days of completion. The Interior Department said the buildup was residual from supply lines that had been dormant for eight weeks during construction, and said it would use nanobubblers and hydrogen peroxide to treat the pool. A Smithsonian marine plant expert said the reflecting pool is especially prone to algae because it is warm and stagnant, adding that there is “no quick fix.”

The pool had last undergone a major renovation in 2012 under Barack Obama, when an ozone filtration system was also installed after algae problems returned. The latest overhaul was meant to prevent a repeat; instead, it has revived questions about favoritism, public spending and whether the safeguards around federal contracting were strong enough to match the political stakes.