Trump’s administration won’t seek new bids to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
NEW YORK (AP) — Trump administration will not seek new bids to repair Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Interior Secretary says Doug Burgum he said Sunday as he faced new questions about the troubled project and taxpayer money.
like the president Donald TrumpBurgum said he was 100 percent sure of that. Vandals caused damage To the century-old Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. While Trump claimed a 350-foot gash was cut in the pool’s liner amid recent renovations, Burgum reached that figure by describing it as multiple cuts. He also said the pool should be at least partially drained next week to complete the repairs.
He said the repairs would not be opened to new contractors.
“We’re going to use the same company because they’ve done a great job,” Burgum told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Fortunately, the vandalism was minor. It was bad. I mean, it could have cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair, so that could have been a felony… just like damaging any government property. But the work done to repair the Reflecting Pool was extremely well done.”
Trump promised to beautify the Reflecting Pool this spring before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations on July 4. The water was drained and the Republican president ordered that the base be painted a color he called “American flag blue.” However, after the area was repaired, the water was cut off. I was disturbed by the algae bloom. It’s been over a week and parts of the new coating appear to be peeling off from underneath.
The pool was closed for Independence Day celebrations, but Burgum said that was due to a safety issue with fireworks.
The unfolding debate over the Reflecting Pool has fueled the broader fight over Trump’s aggressive efforts to overhaul major Washington landmarks. white houseAlmost two years into his final term in office.
Authorities have arrested more than half a dozen people in connection with the Reflecting Pool damage. former Olympian David HearnHe was charged with criminal damage to property last week.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the lead federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said Hearn “in an intentional act” shattered the sealant recently placed in the pool, causing more than $1,000 in damage. She accused him of “forcefully and violently” pulling up the underlayment with “both hands” and acting aggressively towards an employee who told him to stop.
Hearn’s lawyers, Democracy Defenders Fund co-founder Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, said the accusations “are outrageous and should be alarming to every American.” Eisen and Dohrmann interpreted the case as representative of “an abuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a fabricated narrative.”
Burgum was asked if there was photographic evidence of vandals cutting through the pool liner and did not answer directly. He was also asked whether Hearn would be sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum legal sentence for his charge.
“Just because you used to be a member doesn’t exclude you from the law today,” Burgum told CNN. “The courts will decide”
Meanwhile, questions are also emerging about the no-bid contracts awarded for the project to vendors with prior ties to Trump.
Based in Ohio Green Water SolutionsThe company, also known as Greenwater Services, was awarded a $1.7 million contract to install a water purification system at the Reflecting Pool. Atlantic Industrial Coatings He was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.
About 10 Democratic senators and House members are investigating the pool project.
“Taxpayers deserve a full explanation of how these failures occurred and who will be held responsible for correcting them,” said a letter signed by six senators last month.
Burgum also appeared on ABC’s “This Week.”
