Doug Burgum said the Trump administration reflecting pool repairs were dealing with algae that came from pipes as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was being filled, not from vandalism. Speaking on on Sunday, the Interior Secretary said the algae was gone and described it as temporary while the $15 million renovation remained unfinished after the July 4th weekend.
Doug Burgum on
Burgum said, “The algae is all gone. That was a momentary thing. As it was being filled, there was algae in the pipes.” He also said, “It’s multiple gashes that add up to 350 feet.”
The National Park Service was vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting Pool. Burgum said the pool’s condition was tied to the filling process, not to the damage Donald Trump had described.
Donald Trump on Truth Social
One week ago, Trump blamed “criminally made algae” for the pool’s swamp-like appearance in a Truth Social post. Burgum said Trump’s description of criminals behind the algae blooms did not match the cause he gave on.
Trump also posted pictures of the refurbished Reflecting Pool on Truth Social while at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. In the same posts, he mentioned other beautification projects around Washington, D.C., including DuPont Circle, Lafayette Square, and the Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The dispute centers on whether the condition at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came from deliberate damage or from a maintenance problem during refilling. Burgum put the explanation on the filling process itself, saying the algae had been in the pipes and that the problem had already cleared.
What remains at issue is the scale of the repairs. Burgum tied the work to multiple gashes totaling 350 feet and said the pool had not yet reopened after the July 4th weekend, leaving the renovation unfinished while crews kept working on the water and coating problems.
