By Alyssa Lukpat

President Trump poured out his frustrations with the problems plaguing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying multiple people had been arrested and the memorial in the nation's capital would likely need to be drained for repairs.

The reflecting pool on the National Mall has been plagued by algae and a coating that is sloughing off after a recently completed $14.7 million renovation that was part of the president's project to beautify the nation's capital. On Saturday, Trump blamed the problems on vandals, who he said cut and poured corrosive chemicals into the pool.

"They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete," Trump said.

It wasn't immediately clear what the president meant by this. The new surface isn't plastic like a typical pool lining, which is easier to cut, but is more like a coarse coat of paint. The Interior Department and the U.S. Park Police, which helps oversee the pool, didn't immediately return requests to provide additional details. The White House also didn't respond to a request for comment.

The reflecting pool was resurfaced this spring with "American flag blue" coating. Within days of the pool's reopening this month, algae blooms coated the floor and colored the surface, drawing spectators and online mockery. Some have taken pieces of the blue coating that has been floating in the water.

Videos on social media showed at least one person was arrested near the pool in recent days. Under federal law, destroying government property carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Someone who causes only minor damage faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Trump said vandals also destroyed the grass surrounding the pool.

The president said on social-media Saturday that the government had met with contractors to discuss draining the water for repairs and expected the work to be completed quickly.

National Park Service workers this week have been trying to clean the algae blooms off the bottom of the 2,000-foot-long pool by pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water and vacuuming the floor.

Algae thrives in warm, shallow waters, making the 3-foot deep pool an effective breeding ground. Changing the color of the basin from gray to navy blue may have had the unintended effect of making the water warmer, which can further spur algae growth.

The Interior Department said last week that the pool was clear and workers were sucking up dead algae.

The government had awarded the pool resurfacing contract to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings without a full bidding process.

A local organization sued the government over the resurfacing job, claiming the Trump administration sidestepped required reviews before starting the project in April. The government finished the work before a judge had decided whether to step in. The administration has tried to move at a similar speed to complete work like Trump's White House ballroom project.

Write to Alyssa Lukpat at alyssa.lukpat@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 21, 2026 12:30 ET (16:30 GMT)

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