Work on the iconic National Mall basin appears behind schedule. President Trump initially said he had picked the contractor, then said he did not know it.
Interior Department staff members have raised concerns about the quality and speed of the repair work that a contractor is performing on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, according to government documents seen by The New York Times.
The staff members said that bubbles and small holes had appeared in one of the layers meant to waterproof the iconic pool. And uneven application of the tinted waterproofing left the pool mottled in varying shades of blue, the documents indicate.
The documents say both issues were being addressed, but they raise the possibility that the work may not be finished by the government’s deadline of May 22. That would be an ironic turn of events, given that federal bidding laws were skirted because the government had argued there was an urgent need — to have it ready for the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The Reflecting Pool has been plagued for decades by problems with leaks and algae blooms.
Last month, the Interior Department hired a Virginia firm, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, to repair, resurface and paint the pool. President Trump said publicly that he had recommended the firm because of good work it did on the swimming pools at one of his golf clubs.
However, Mr. Trump did an about-face early Tuesday, distancing himself from the company. “I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.