The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Trump calls "American flag blue" this spring. An AP reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off Reflecting Pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.
- Trump's problem-plagued effort to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation's 250th birthday. The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.
Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project's initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom. Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor.
- Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics allege it's from shoddy repair work. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: "Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again." He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.
- Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the US Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool's new liner.
- Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in DC Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.
- At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
- Photos of the drained pool do not show the huge gash that Trump claims vandals made in the pool, Forbes reports. The president said last month that the gash was 250 feet long. He later said it was 300, then 350 feet long. On Monday, he said vandals made slashes "300 yards long" and pulled the liner upward "with great force."
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