Reflecting pool latest flashpoint in Trump’s efforts to refashion DC

The ongoing renovations to the reflecting pool on the National Mall have emerged as the latest flashpoint in President Trump’s effort to overhaul some of the most recognizable landmarks in the nation’s capital.

Trump announced plans to repair and renovate the 2,028-foot reflecting pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial during an unrelated event in the Oval Office last month, describing its current condition as “terrible” and “filthy.”  

He claimed the project, which includes waterproofing the pool’s bottom, mending leaking joints and repainting it “American flag blue,” could be completed for less than $2 million and in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4.

“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump said after making an unannounced trip to the construction site last week with some of his Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

The New York Times reported on Monday, however, that the actual cost is more than seven times Trump’s estimate, citing federal records that showed the Interior Department nearly doubled the size of its contract late last week.

The department added $6.2 million to its contract with Atlantic Industrial Coatings — a Virginia firm that Trump said worked on swimming pools at his National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. — raising the cost to $13.1 million, according to the newspaper.

“The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th,” an Interior Department spokesperson told The Hill on........

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