Donald Trump spent millions of taxpayer dollars giving the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool a rushed vanity makeover. His administration awarded major contracts without competitive bidding, including one to a firm that had previously worked on a swimming pool at Trump's Virginia golf course.
What did America get?
An algae bloom. Peeling material. Repeated draining. More repairs. And a massive bill that taxpayers may be forced to keep paying far into the future.
But despite the algae explosion, the peeling coating and mounting questions about the project, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says the administration intends to use the same contractor for additional repairs and will not seek new bids.
Seriously?
When a multimillion-dollar project is followed almost immediately by green sludge, peeling material and additional repairs, the answer should not be: "Here, have some more money."
The Reflecting Pool belongs to the American people. It is not Trump's personal decorating project, and taxpayers should not be forced to keep paying contractors with previous ties to Trump properties without independent scrutiny or competitive bidding.
Add your name: We demand that any non-emergency work on the Reflecting Pool be paused until there is a genuinely independent assessment of the work completed so far, and that all future repair work be subject to open, competitive bidding.
