Trump’s ‘pool guy’ has his contract nearly doubled to $13M for ‘American flag blue’ paint job at Lincoln Memorial

A company that reportedly worked for one of Donald Trump’s golf courses was awarded a no-bid federal contract worth nearly $7 million to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool last month.

Then the company was awarded another $6.2 million last week.

Trump initially said the project could be done for $1.5 million. His administration is now spending more than $13.1 million on the project, with all funds directed to Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, Virginia, according to federal spending records.

Records show the company was awarded more than $6.8 million on April 3 to “PAINT LINCOLN MEMORIAL POOL.” Another payment of $6.2 million was awarded May 8 under a “SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR WORK WITHIN SCOPE,” records show.

The administration bypassed a typical competitive bid process by arguing that the need for renovations was so urgent that any delays would cause “serious injury” to the government, though it remains unclear what that “injury” entails.

open image in gallery

Workers are in the process of repainting the floor of the iconic 2,030-foot pool “American flag blue” under a suite of renovation projects in Washington, D.C., ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month that he had selected a company that worked at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools up the road,” Trump said. “He looked at it. He called me up. He said, ‘Sir, we can do something on it.’”

Trump complained that the reflecting pool — which was built in 1922 between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument — “never looked great” because the stone on the bottom of the pool was “not really meant to be a stone that's underwater for that much of a period of time.”

Trump said the renovation could be done in a week for “about a million and a half dollars.”

The project is expected to be completed by May 22, according to federal documents.

open image in gallery

The project is “being completed at ‘Trump Speed’ to ensure the iconic landmark is totally restored ahead of the 250th celebrations,” White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a recent statement to The Independent.

“As President Trump said, this project will be done under budget and ahead of schedule, ultimately for the benefit of the American people as we approach our 250th anniversary celebrations,” Rogers added.

The landmark has needed repairs over the years after slowly sinking into the marshland on which it was built. It has been leaking an estimated 16 million gallons every year and frequently experiences filtration problems leading to algae blooms on the surface.

But changing the pool’s color to a deep, bright blue not only subverts the landmark’s intentional design but is subject to review under the National Historic Preservation Act, among other federal laws, according to a federal lawsuit from the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group.

The original dark grey of the basin “was not incidental to the design. It was the design,” according to the group’s complaint.

“The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial,” the group’s president Charles Birnbaum said in a statement Monday.

“A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park,” he added.

open image in gallery

The Independent has requested comment from Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC.

A website for the Virginia-based company, which previously worked on Trump’s National Golf Club in Sterling, describes itself as a “woman-owned advanced coatings application company providing protective liners and coatings for waterproofing, chemical protection, impact and abrasion protection, and corrosion control.”

The company has not previously held a federal contract.

Asked why the company received additional funding for the project, a spokesperson for the Department of Interior told The Independent that the president “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,” the person said.

“The choice of American Flag Blue will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument,” the statement said.

The project also includes construction of a “state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system” and a “dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds from wildlife,” according to the Interior Department.

“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 person said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies