The Trump administration appears to have used an exception in federal rules to award an almost $7,000,000 no-bid contract to a company described as the president’s “pool guy.”
Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been undergoing renovations, more than a century after the landmark was first built in 1922.
The changes were reportedly driven by Donald Trump’s dislike of the pool’s original shade, with the president saying he wanted it to be “American flag blue” instead.
Stretching more than 2,000 feet, the pool had previously featured grey stone, which Trump criticized as an unappealing choice.
“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” he said, as per PBS.
Trump publicly put the project’s price tag at $2 million. However, an investigation by The New York Times reported that he personally selected the contractor and signed off on a $6.9 million no-bid agreement.
According to the report, officials relied on an exemption generally reserved for urgent circumstances.
The provision is typically intended to avert “serious injury, financial or other, to the government.” But the work at the reflecting pool has been characterized as largely cosmetic, rather than a response to an immediate safety issue.
Responding to questions about the process, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Times: “This project is now being completed at ‘Trump speed’ to ensure the iconic landmark is totally restored ahead of the 250th celebrations.”
The contract, awarded on April 3, went to Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The Times noted the firm has previously done work at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
As The Independent explains, most government contracts are normally put out to public bid, with the award generally going to the vendor offering the best value while meeting project requirements.
Art publication artnet reported that the Biden administration had also explored renovating the pool, but was quoted roughly $300 million and an estimated three-year timeline.
By invoking the exemption, the administration was able to bypass steps that typically apply to modifications of federal property overseen by the National Park Service (NPS), including the reflecting pool.
The site has previously been updated through rehabilitation efforts that underwent federal review, but the reporting suggests Trump’s most recent plan did not receive the same level of oversight.