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Trump changes story on reflecting pool contractor

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by Mallory Wilson - 05/12/26 5:25 PM ET

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by Mallory Wilson - 05/12/26 5:25 PM ET

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President Trump said Tuesday he does not know the contractor that is renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after previously saying he spoke to a man he knew about it.

Restoration of the basin has drawn criticism for the cost of the no-bid contract and the president’s vision, which includes a paint in the color of “American flag blue.”

The project, which Trump first mentioned last month, was awarded to a Virginia firm, Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The work is being done to coincide with the nation’s 250th birthday in July.

The president on Truth Social added that he did not give out the contract.

“Also, I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,” Trump wrote in a post that was criticizing a New York Times story that discussed the rising costs of the project.

But Trump said in the Oval Office last month that he had a “guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools.”

“He looked at it. He called me up. He said, ‘Sir, we can do something on it,’” Trump said while discussing the planned renovation.

A White House official told The Hill on Tuesday that the contractor for the Reflecting Pool has been involved in several of the beautiful projects in the District.

“While the President does not have a personal relationship with this contractor, as a private citizen and builder, he was familiar with the company’s previous work,” the official said.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers reiterated that the Interior Department “contracted the company to stop the leaks and restore the Reflecting Pool to its proper glory.”

“The restoration effort will be completed ahead of America’s 250th celebrations and for a fraction of the cost that the former Presidents Obama and Biden squandered only to worsen its condition,” Rogers said in a statement.

The work was originally estimated to cost $1.8 million. On Monday, the New York Times cited federal records showing the actual cost has jumped to an anticipated $13.1 million.

The Interior Department reportedly added $6.2 million to the previous cost of the no-bid contract on Friday.

Trump, in his social media post Tuesday, defended the project, saying the Reflecting Pool is “an embarrassment” to the city and the country and described its appearance as a “total mess for all to see.”

“I worked with our now strong Department of the Interior and explained to them that we should view this as a highly sophisticated swimming pool, not the leaking, dilapidated facade, joints and all, of a building,” the president wrote. “Instead of taking 4 years to build, at a cost, granite pavers and all, of 400 Million Dollars, we could construct a far superior Reflecting Pool for 5 or 6 Million Dollars, and could complete the project in 2 weeks rather than 4 years. What a difference in time and money, and for a far superior end result!”

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