Trump’s American Flag Blue Reflecting Pool Renovation Drains Lincoln Memorial Basin in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool sat empty on Monday as the 2,030-foot-long basin was drained for resurfacing, with workers spraying blue material in the corner of the pool.

“Troubled Reflecting Pool faces fresh scrutiny over vandalism claims and duck deaths Troubled Reflecting Pool faces fresh scrutiny over vandalism claims and duck deaths WASHINGTON (AP) — The saga over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool took a turn as President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested over recent damage”

AP News

NPR reported that President Donald Trump said the project would take one week and cost $2 million, while the Department of the Interior told NPR it expects work to be completed "by the end of May".

AP News

NPR said the overhaul aims to change the reflecting pool from its longtime gray hue to a swimming pool-like blue, with Trump describing the color as "American flag blue."

The NPR report also said the pool had needed renovations over the years, including a 2010-to-2012 project funded by $34 million, and it cited a budget report saying workers installed the wrong size water system pipes that have "continuously broken and failed due to soil pressure."

As the resurfacing drew scrutiny, Senate Democrats pressed the Trump administration to explain why officials awarded no-bid contracts as part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovations.

CNBC said a group of Senate Democrats, led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and addressed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, argued the "American people deserve to know why the rehabilitation project has failed."

CNBC

CNBC reported that Democrats pointed to a cost increase from Trump’s initial estimate of $1.8 million to more than $16 million, and it quoted the senators saying "Following the award of a no-bid contract and a drastic increase in project costs" the public was assured the work would restore the landmark.

NBC News added that the federal government has spent at least $14 million to refinish the pool, not including National Park Service staff labor, and it said the project was supposed to take one to two weeks but had taken more than 60 days as of Tuesday.

The controversy broadened from construction problems to law enforcement and environmental concerns, after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested over recent damage to the Reflecting Pool.

“Several months before blue strips started floating to the surface of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a company involved in its last renovation more than 15 years ago was approached with an opportunity to do this remodel as well”

CNN

AP reported that Trump claimed without supporting evidence there had been a "350-foot gash" in the paint, while it also said the Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint.

CNN reported that the Justice Department said in a court filing that the caulk over the pool’s foam sealant was cut with a "sharp knife or razor" and that the tops of roughly 70 fence posts were thrown into the pool.

CNN also said an earlier company involved in the last renovation, Sika Corporation, declined to do the remodel because the Trump administration wanted it done by July 4 and the pool bottom had to be blue, and it quoted Rep. Robert Garcia calling the project "Donald Trump’s disastrous renovation of our national Reflecting Pool" in a statement.