Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that the government will retain the company used for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s initial painting to repair recent damage. During an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, Burgum praised the company’s performance despite vandalism-related paint damage. Burgum stated, “We will use the same company because they did a fantastic job.”
The government faced criticism for awarding a $13.1 million no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings. This company previously worked on properties owned by former President Trump. Trump estimated the painting project cost between $1.5 million to $2 million, but Atlantic Industrial Coatings reported an initial price of $13.1 million, later increasing to $14.6 million due to additional work requested by the National Park Service.
Since the project’s completion, pieces of blue paint have loosened and algae has turned the water bright green. To address the algae issue, an extra $1.7 million contract was awarded to Green Water Solutions, a company associated with a Trump donor. Peeling paint and algae problems were observed at the Reflecting Pool last month.
Trump claimed, without evidence, that vandalism was responsible for the paint damage, pointing to alleged gashes in the pool floor. Following Trump’s assertion, several arrests occurred, including the indictment of U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn on a property destruction charge exceeding $1,000 in damage. Hearn denied wrongdoing, asserting he did not damage the coating. He commented that he was arrested after merely touching loose coating during a bike ride.
Regarding Hearn’s arrest, Burgum remarked on Hearn’s right to defend himself: “He can say what he wants to say” and emphasized the role of the courts in determining culpability. Burgum cautioned that former titles and roles do not exempt individuals from legal accountability.
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