Trump Administration's July 4 Reflecting Pool Fix Fails, Leaving Lincoln Memorial Basin Drained
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 7
Trump Administration's July 4 Reflecting Pool Fix Fails, Leaving Lincoln Memorial Basin Drained
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 7
Summary
An ad hoc Trump administration plan to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ended with the basin drained within months, after a rushed makeover meant to be ready for July 4.
David Schutzenhofer, manager of a Trump Organization golf club in New Jersey, sought help at January's World of Concrete trade show, where 47,000 people attended and vendors pointed him to Missouri contractor Rodney Jarboe.
Jarboe said Schutzenhofer told him in March that President Trump wanted the leaking, algae-ridden pool fixed for the nation's 250th birthday, leaving only weeks to award a contract and begin manufacturing by early April.
The plan centered on coating the pool with a blue polyurea sheet that Trump said would make it beautiful, but the result became an eyesore and a target of jokes and memes.
The episode shows how a high-profile federal landmark project was handled through a compressed, improvised process tied to a political deadline in Trump's Washington.