President Donald Trump used a government exemption to give a $6.9 million no-bid contract to his “pool guy” to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to an ocean-blue color after complaining it “never looked great.”
The exemption is typically reserved for urgent situations to prevent “serious injury, financial or other, to the government”, according to documents reviewed in an exclusive report by The New York Times.
But Trump used the exemption to get the company, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, to quickly begin work on the memorial as part of an array of building projects and refurbishments taking place across Washington D.C. ahead of America’s 250th birthday this year.
“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools up the road,” Trump told reporters about the project in the Oval Office last month.
Usually, government contracts are awarded to the vendor that can do the best job, for the lowest cost, through a public bidding process.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
Work on the reflecting pool has already begun. Last month, crews were spraying the ocean-blue spray paint on the 2,030-foot pool, The Independent discovered. But experts told The Times that changing the color was unlikely to fix problems that have marred the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool for decades.
The pool, which sits in front of the Lincoln Memorial, has slowly sunk into the ground over time because it was built on marshland. It underwent massive construction in 2010 but still faced filtration problems that led to algae blooming across the surface.
While the National Parks Service cleans the algae off the surface, the president has expressed dissatisfaction at the green tint to the reflecting pool, particularly ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
On April 3, the contract was given to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company based in New Canton, Virginia, which does not appear to have done government-contract work before, the New York Times reported.
While Trump said the contract was going to a company that he had used for pools at his properties, Atlantic Industrial Coatings’ website does not mentioned that work but does cite examples including reinforcing roofing for a power company and rehabilitating a culvert for a public road.
“This project is now being completed at ‘Trump speed’ to ensure the iconic landmark is totally restored ahead of the 250th celebrations,” White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the Times in a statement.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool upgrades are just one of several projects that Trump has directed to beautify the nation’s capital. In addition to his $400 million White House ballroom, which has faced a series of legal challenges, the president has suggested adding a triumphal arch to downtown Washington, D.C., to mark America’s 250th anniversary.
“Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital,” Trump told reporters Friday after driving across the reflecting pool in his SUV motorcade to review the paint job.
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