Last month, President Trump said he wanted to use his “pool guy” to repair the famous Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, claiming it would take just $1.8 million to fix leaks and paint the underwater surface a shade described as “American flag blue.”
“I have a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools up the road,” Trump told reporters at the White House last month.
The no-bid contract that was issued soon thereafter to a Virginia company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings was for $6.9 million, and the administration claimed that it was issued in such a hurry because the situation was so serious that it could result in harm to the government.
On Monday, we learned that the price tag has soared to $13.1 million, after the Interior Department added $6.2 million to the contract late last week. No detailed explanation has been provided for why the cost has jumped so much, but according to The New York Times, a spokesperson for the Interior Department said that the new price reflects an expedited schedule that aims to complete the project before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration this summer.
Lawsuit filed: A nonprofit group called The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed suit on Monday to halt the project. The foundation says the Trump administration is ignoring laws that require the Interior Department to notify the public of its plans, to gather input from other federal agencies, and to assess the project’s environmental impact.
“Defendants’ failure to follow the law before inserting a permanent blemish on the National Mall is causing serious and irreparable harm to the Plaintiffs and the public generally,” the lawsuit says. “Without immediate judicial intervention, defendants will deface an iconic American landmark, in open violation of Congressionally mandated procedures.”
Charles A. Birnbaum, the foundation’s president, said in a statement that the reflecting pool is an integrative element in the overall design of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, and the new color will alter an intentional design. “A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park,” he said.