No-bid contract to turn DC’s reflecting pool blue goes to firm with ties to Trump
Summary
President Donald Trump’s administration awarded a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a Virginia company with ties to Trump for restoring the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial. The project involves painting the pool blue to address algae and water clarity issues, though experts doubt this will solve the underlying problems.Key Facts
- The contract was given to Atlantic Industrial Coatings on April 3 without competition.
- The company has not previously received a federal contract.
- The reflecting pool is 2,000 feet long, holds about 6.75 million gallons of water, and often turns green from algae.
- Past administrations spent over $35 million trying to fix the algae problem; the current approach drains and refills the pool yearly.
- The pool leaks 16 million gallons of water annually, which must be replaced by the National Park Service.
- President Trump proposed making the pool turquoise but accepted the contractor’s suggestion to paint it “American-flag blue.”
- Experts say painting the pool will not solve the main filtration problems causing the algae.
- Critics say the no-bid contract rewards Trump’s associates without public oversight.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.