No-Bid Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Contract Swelled to $13.1 M. With “Inflated” Profit Margin, as Leak Problems Persist
Federal documents obtained by the New York Times show that a no-bid contract to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool expanded to about $13.1 million, far above President Donald Trump’s earlier claim that the work would cost under $2 million and take about a week. The contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings of Virginia—reported to have had no previous federal contracts—charged a 20% profit margin plus another 20% for overhead, which National Park Service officials internally described as “excessive” compared with a typical 6–12% profit range. Records also indicate the company initially failed multiple attempts to seal leaks between concrete slabs, requiring removal and reinstallation of materials, even as much of the basin was coated in a bright “American Flag blue.” The Cultural Landscape Foundation sued the Interior Department earlier in May, arguing officials improperly bypassed required historic-preservation reviews under pressure from “White House leadership” and a compressed timeline tied to the United States’ 250th-anniversary celebrations.
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This story was covered in Boycotts, Closures, and the Museum Loot Legacy