Timeline shows construction flaws shadowed Reflecting Pool project

The $16 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has drawn renewed controversy after President Donald Trump slammed federal prosecutors' decision to dismiss charges against an Olympian accused of felony vandalism to the pool lining.

The project to renovate and restore the pool and prevent it from leaking was plagued with troubles from its start in April, including rain, green algae blooms, weather delays and more.

Extensive construction issues with the renovation prevent prosecutors from proving that any vandalism to the pool reached the point necessary for a felony conviction, according to a July 31 motion by the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Construction flaws by the contractor, failed testing and other problems at the construction site revealed in documents from the Department of the Interior undermined the evidence for the original indictment, states the 16-page motion, which also points to department delays in providing those documents to prosecutors.

The documents indicate damage to the pool in June was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, "and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration," the motion states. "The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work."

If the department had been "forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession," the motion states, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment against David Hearn, an Olympic canoeist arrested poolside in July.

Trump, whose numerous Truth Social posts blamed damages to the pool on vandalism, blasted Pirro in remarks on Aug. 3 and stated on Truth Social that he disagrees with her.

USA TODAY reached out to the Interior Department and the National Park Service for a response and additional information, and to Atlantic Industrial Coatings but had not received a response as of 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 3.

The following is a timeline of the Reflecting Pool renovation, based on statements from National Park Service officials in documents related to a lawsuit filed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation; federal contracting documents; court documents in the Hearn case, including that include the July 31 motion from Pirro's office and Trump's Truth Social account.

April 3, 2026 - Department of Interior gave a no-bid $6.89 million contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings.

May 8, 2026 - Trump's motorcade drives across the empty Reflecting Pool, the same day another $6.2 million for supplemental work is added to the contract.

June 16, 2026 - Contracting records show the cost of the pool renovation has risen to $16 million, including $14.2 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings and $1.7 million for a subcontractor, Green Water Solutions.

June 19, 2026 - U.S. Park Police accuses David Hearn, an Olympian canoeist, with misdemeanor destruction of government property after he is seen at the edge of the pool. The initial Park Police report states Hearn told an officer he reached into the pool to feel the temperature of the water and began to grab at "a big piece of material flapping in the water."

July 31, 2026 - Pirro's office drops the charges against Hearn, citing some of the 695 megabytes of data in files provided by the Interior Department. It wasn't until the office "reached out to DOI dozens and dozens of times" that information "slowly started trickling" into the prosecutors, the motion states. "It is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt."

Aug. 1, 2026 - On Truth Social, Trump says he disagrees with Pirro. "There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!"

Aug. 3, 2026 - In remarks, Trump states Pirro "folded like an umbrella."