Trump officials to use same company for Reflecting Pool repairs
The federal government won't seek a new company to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the water turned green with algae earlier this summer and the blue liner along its base peeled off in chunks.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who oversees national parks and whose agency is responsible for the landmark's maintenance, told CNN the company that installed the liner earlier this summer "did a fantastic job" and will also do the repairs. No date has been announced, but USA TODAY asked the Department of the Interior and the White House when the pool would be drained and repairs would begin.
The Trump administration did not go through a competitive bidding process before hiring Atlantic Industrial Coatings of Virginia to install the liner. The project cost $14.7 million, and the liner began peeling shortly after its unveiling to the public June 6.
"The job that was done to fix the Reflecting Pool was done extremely well, and hopefully we can move on," Burgum said on CNN's "State of the Union" on July 5. He said the liner failed because of vandalism.
President Donald Trump and his administration have said someone used a box cutter or similar tool to cut a gash in the pool's liner about the length of a football field. (The reflecting pool is roughly the length of six football fields.)
"Thankfully, the vandalism was small," Burgum said. "It was – it was bad. I mean, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair."
Atlantic Industrial Coatings wrote on its website June 21 that it would make repairs as soon as possible under the warranty. "These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner," the statement says.
The Trump administration has not named a suspect in the suspected vandalism. An official with the National Parks Service said in a court document that the liner was cut using a "sharp knife or razor" but did not explain how the government reached that conclusion.
A federal grand jury on July 2 indicted a 67-year-old man, David Hearn, on charges of felony vandalism. He told The Washington Post he reached into the reflecting pool to grab a piece of "flapping" material.
On June 24, the U.S. Park Police, part of the National Park Service, released photos and video of an unidentified person who does not match Hearn's appearance briefly reaching into the pool.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump officials to use same company for Reflecting Pool repairs
Reporting by Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:56 PM.