President Donald Trump’s repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are estimated to cost an additional $11.3 million compared to his original projection, according to the New York Times.
The Interior Department added another $6.2 million to the existing contract on Friday, bringing the total sum to an estimated $13.1 million, the NYT reported on Monday. Trump previously asserted that the project would cost just $1.8 million and said he had selected Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings to spearhead the project because the company worked on the swimming pools at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, per the outlet.
The U.S. government granted the company a no-bid contract in April, according to the NYT. Officials bypassed the normal requirement for competing proposals by arguing that the project was so urgent that delays could cause “serious injury” to the government, the outlet reported.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“President Trump has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country. The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations,” a DOI spokesperson responded when reached for comment. “NPS is also investing in a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and will now have a dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds from wildlife. The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come.”
“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,” the DOI also noted.
Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin told the NYT in that the price increase “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.”
The contractor was hired by the government to fix leaking joints between the pool’s concrete slabs, waterproof the pool’s bottom and paint it an “American Flag Blue” color, the NYT reported.
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman wrote in a Monday X post in response to the NYT’s report that the outlet needs to “stop this henpecking.”
“$13M? This is an iconic American place and was in serious disrepair,” Fetterman added in the social media post. “Get over the TDS and celebrate this is getting done for our 250th.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
