Top House Oversight Democrat demands answers on Reflecting Pool renovation ‘failure’

House Top House Oversight Democrat demands answers on Reflecting Pool renovation ‘failure’ Comments: by Sarah Davis - 06/24/26 11:12 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 06/24/26 11:12 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is demanding answers about the renovation work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after algae bloomed and paint peeled shortly after the project’s completion.

Garcia addressed these concerns in Wednesday letters to the two construction firms awarded no-bid federal contracts for the more than $14 million project, Green Water Solutions and Atlantic Industrial Coatings.

“The President should be focused on making life more affordable for the American people, not rewarding his loyalists with government contracts and wasting taxpayer money on failing projects,” he said in a statement. We’re demanding answers straight from the contractors about the project’s failures.”

The president has speculated that the pool was vandalized and said Tuesday morning that authorities have made six arrests and issued seven federal citations for alleged “damage they did to our Country’s now beautiful Reflecting Pool.”

Democratic lawmakers have questioned the president’s claims of vandalism, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) telling CNN’s John Berman on Tuesday that there is a “24/7 camera” aimed at the pool that would show evidence of vandalism.

“The president can back up his position on this by showing this film to the American people, Durbin said. “Let them see it with their own eyes if it exists.”

The president directed reporters to the National Park Service for evidence. He also announced on Tuesday that the pool will be partially drained “either immediately before or after” Independence Day for further repairs.

“In the latest example of stunning waste, fraud, and abuse, the Trump administration skirted standard contracting practices to award non-competitive contracts to Trump donors and acquaintances — including yourself — to beautify the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool,” the California Democrat wrote in his letters to the two firms.

“Now, as the Reflecting Pool’s new paint flakes off in chunks and water is consumed by algae, it appears those taxpayer dollars have been flushed down the drain,” he continued. “While Americans struggle to afford basic necessities amid the economic turmoil sowed by the Trump administration, I demand information and documents to understand how this egregious waste of taxpayer dollars was allowed to occur.”

A spokesperson for Green Water Solutions, Erin Kramer, told The Hill they “look forward” to discussing the company’s environmental work with Garcia.

The company installed nanobubble ozone technology in the pool, which works to counteract and prevent algae outbreaks. Kramer said the pool’s green coloring is the result of dead algae that now needs to be removed.

“The water in the reflecting pool is clear, and what remains is sediment from algae that has been remediated and is settling to the bottom,” the company’s CEO, Chas Antinone, said in a statement.

“That is part of the natural treatment cycle. In lakes and rivers, those nutrients are reabsorbed by the environment. In a built pool, the cleaning process is different, and separate from our treatment work,” he continued. “Greenwater’s job is to safely and sustainably remediate algae.”

In an update shared on their website on Sunday, Atlantic Industrial Coatings said it has worked with the National Park Service to identify areas of the pool in need of repair. This company was responsible for installing the pool’s new “American flag blue” paint base.

“These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” the company said. “These repairs can not be made until the pool is drained. As soon as it is feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.