Trump says Reflecting Pool in full use amid DC renovation scrutiny

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool sits on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, part of a landscape designed by Henry Bacon, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and others. Donald J. Trump said the work was complete and called the pool “in full use” after a renovation that has climbed past $16 million and drawn scrutiny over algae, no-bid contracting and the condition of one of Washington’s most visible landmarks. In Truth Social posts, he described the pool’s surface as dark blue and said contractors from Oklahoma had handled the project.

It was not finished in time for the Lincoln Memorial’s dedication on May 30, 1922, but was completed shortly afterward. The pool is one of Washington’s most recognizable and filmed sites.

Congressional Democrats called for investigations into the work, pressing for answers about the contracting process, the water quality records and whether the project itself contributed to the pool’s algae bloom and peeling paint. Six people had been arrested in connection with alleged vandalism, while Trump blamed vandals and said the pool now functioned properly. In one post, he said the pool “was originally opened in 1922” and that it “never functioned properly” until now.

The combined cost of resurfacing and filtration work had risen to more than $16 million, including a separate $1.74 million contract for a “nano bubble” system meant to fight algae. The Interior Department cited an “unusual and compelling urgency” tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations and a push to reopen the pool for Fourth of July events.