Burgum, Trump still blame pool damage on vandals
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been sticking to his original story that vandals were responsible for damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, despite a court filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro saying the department had evidence a “botched” installation was to blame.
© Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press
President Trump, who has repeatedly railed against the alleged vandalism and efforts to hinder his controversial beautification efforts in Washington, D.C., has embraced Burgum’s version of events, saying Monday that Pirro made a mistake and “folded like an umbrella” in the face of an aggressive judge.
“Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after and — went after her department,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”
“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” he added. “She folded like an umbrella.”
Pirro’s office had initially charged former U.S. Olympian David Hearn with felony destruction of property over damage to the seal coating of the Trump-renovated Reflecting Pool, but, in a court filing late last week, it said the Department of the Interior (DOI) had “provided additional documents … showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”
Her filing particularly cited an internal email from a National Park Service engineer that raised concerns about the coating peeling eight days before Hearn’s arrest.
Burgum, like Trump, swiftly pushed back.
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum said in a post on X.
“We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, told The Hill that he plans to investigate the Reflecting Pool saga if his party retakes the House next year.
“They’re lighting taxpayer money on fire and bungling the maintenance and the repair of important public resources in the nation’s capital,” he said.
Huffman added that Democrats will specifically look into the contracting process. The Trump administration has given no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, an unusual procedure for non-emergency federal work, according to reports from The New York Times.
Read more at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool damage explanation has become contested. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Trump attribute it to vandalism. However, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office filed court documents stating the Department of Interior provided evidence indicating the damage resulted from installation failure rather than vandalism as initially claimed. An internal National Park Service engineer email flagged coating issues eight days before an Olympic athlete was charged with felony destruction. Burgum responded by citing expert testimony and camera footage of vandal damage. A House Democrat indicated his party would investigate the repairs and contracting procedures if they gain control of the chamber, noting concerns about no-bid contract awards.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been sticking to his original story that vandals were responsible for damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, despite a court filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro saying the department had evidence a “botched” installation was to blame.
© Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press
President Trump, who has repeatedly railed against the alleged vandalism and efforts to hinder his controversial beautification efforts in Washington, D.C., has embraced Burgum’s version of events, saying Monday that Pirro made a mistake and “folded like an umbrella” in the face of an aggressive judge.
“Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after and — went after her department,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”
“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” he added. “She folded like an umbrella.”
Pirro’s office had initially charged former U.S. Olympian David Hearn with felony destruction of property over damage to the seal coating of the Trump-renovated Reflecting Pool, but, in a court filing late last week, it said the Department of the Interior (DOI) had “provided additional documents … showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”
Her filing particularly cited an internal email from a National Park Service engineer that raised concerns about the coating peeling eight days before Hearn’s arrest.
Burgum, like Trump, swiftly pushed back.
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum said in a post on X.
“We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, told The Hill that he plans to investigate the Reflecting Pool saga if his party retakes the House next year.
“They’re lighting taxpayer money on fire and bungling the maintenance and the repair of important public resources in the nation’s capital,” he said.
Huffman added that Democrats will specifically look into the contracting process. The Trump administration has given no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, an unusual procedure for non-emergency federal work, according to reports from The New York Times.
Read more at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has maintained that vandals caused damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office filed documents stating the Department of Interior provided evidence showing damage resulted from a botched installation, not vandalism An internal National Park Service engineer email raised concerns about coating peeling eight days before David Hearn's arrest President Trump criticized Pirro for changing course, saying she 'folded like an umbrella' Burgum cited expert testimony and camera footage showing vandal damage to the pool The Trump administration awarded no-bid contracts for Reflecting Pool work, an unusual procedure for non-emergency federal work Trump's beautification efforts in Washington, D.C. have been controversial House Democrats claim the administration is 'lighting taxpayer money on fire' through maintenance bungling
Read the full story at The Hill ↗
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum maintains vandals damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, contradicting a U.S. Attorney filing citing evidence of faulty installation
- President Trump supports Burgum's account and criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for changing her position
- Pirro's office initially charged an Olympic athlete with felony destruction but later filed documents showing internal Park Service emails raised coating concerns before the arrest
- House Democrats plan to investigate the pool repairs and the Trump administration's use of no-bid contracts for the work