Historians, members of Congress and several federal judges have criticized the president’s “move fast and break things” approach to remaking Washington.
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President Donald Trump has touted his project to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, calling it a 2,000-foot-long example of his plan to beautify the nation’s capital city.
“I’m very proud of it,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, adding the pool would soon reopen and insisting that his six-week project had finally solved the pool’s years-long leaking issues. “I’m very good at building things and constructing things.”
His critics see the project as evidence of something else: how Trump has bulldozed through regulations, process and long-held norms to impose his will as he remakes Washington.
“It illustrates how vulnerable our shared cultural landscape heritage is in Washington under this administration,” said Charles Birnbaum, leader of a local advocacy organization that sued to stop Trump’s changes to the Reflecting Pool. The Trump administration’s contractors finished the project before a federal judge could rule in the case.
Major construction projects in the nation’s capital have long been governed by a web of federal commissions, planning boards and laws requiring public input, creating checks on any president seeking to transform the city.
But in his second term, Trump has treated Washington as a canvas, reshaping landmarks and public spaces according to his own vision.
He demolished the White House’s East Wing to build his planned ballroom, fenced off Lafayette Square outside the White House and undertook dozens of other renovations to local parks and sites. He is also pursuing a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch, a large statuary garden and an overhaul of the city’s historic public golf course. He has fired holdovers on federal review panels and installed deputies who have acceded to his projects with minimal oversight and unprecedented speed.
The president’s supporters — and even some Trump critics who live in Washington — have credited him for cleaning up parts of the city and restoring long-decrepit fountains in many major parks. Several Democratic lawmakers have acknowledged that too much red tape has slowed necessary renovation work.
But Trump’s approach has triggered a growing backlash from preservationists, members of Congress and voters across the country, who say that he is exceeding his authority by unilaterally remaking public spaces.
“It’s no secret that the national parks in D.C. have needed a lot of help for a long time,” said Ed Stierli, an official with the advocacy group National Parks Conservation Association, citing a multibillion-dollar backlog in deferred maintenance. He added that America’s 250th anniversary was an appropriate time to revitalize the city — but “the way it’s being done is not the way that this should be handled,” he said.
Several federal judges who have weighed a halt to Trump’s ballroom project have rebuked the administration for not stopping to seek public comment before tearing down the East Wing and starting work on Trump’s ballroom.
Judge Patricia Ann Millett, an appointee of President Barack Obama, on Friday pressed a Justice Department lawyer who argued that a group didn’t sue quickly enough to justify a court-ordered halt to Trump’s ballroom project.
“So just move fast and break things and nobody has standing,” Millett said.
Democrats have also assailed the president over how he is funding his changes to Washington. The administration has redirected millions of dollars in park fees to Trump’s local construction and renovation projects.
“This is wrong. It’s misguided,” Rep. Emily Randall (D-Washington) said in a hearing with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last month. “Secretary Burgum, which do you think should be the higher priority: fixing a bridge that is a safety hazard for hikers, or changing the bottom of the Reflecting Pool?”
“Well, my answer would be both,” Burgum replied.
Trump announced the Reflecting Pool effort in April, pledging that the federal government would resurface the pool in about one week and for less than $2 million. He also touted his expertise at building “more than 100 swimming pools” during his real estate career, adding that he had involved his personal contractors who helped him select a new, highly reflective color for the pool’s basin: “American Flag Blue.”
The project ultimately took six weeks and cost more than $10 million, far more than Trump initially projected. The president bristled at mounting criticism, including New York Times reports about the rising cost. Birnbaum’s organization, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, sued last month to pause work it warned would be irreversible until the public could weigh in.
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Stierli agreed, noting the pool’s long struggles with algae blooms and wondering about the impact of the new, dark blue basin.
“Would that increase the water temperature? Would it lead to more algae blooms? What will the impact be to the water quality of the Reflecting Pool?” he asked. “These are all questions that would normally be answered during that review process that just was not done in this case.”
But with the project done and the pool refilled, Trump has claimed victory. In the Oval Office this week, he implied that his renovation project was as impressive as skyscraper construction, repeatedly holding up a poster that compared the 2,030-foot-long Reflecting Pool to some of the nation’s tallest buildings. He took to social media to share an AI-generated video that showed Trump filling the pool with the tears of his critics, and he has argued that the project is far more expansive than his critics give him credit for.
“This was not a paint job,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “This was highly sophisticated material, industrial strength, that could last for 100 years, applied by very talented people.”
A Thursday afternoon stroll down to the Reflecting Pool confirmed that the new American Flag Blue surface was, as promised, very reflective. Water burbled up from a spout in the middle of the pool, spilling down its center. Construction vehicles were still parked inside the pool, toward its edges. Every once in a while, a golf cart loaded with workers would drive through the water, leaving a speedboat wake. Five photographers and three television camera crews had gathered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to document it.
“We have a duck!” one of them cried, as a winged visitor landed in the water about halfway down the pool.
Some visitors said the project’s outcome exceeded their expectations.
“I’m really encouraged to see that it’s reflecting,” said Mark Wicks, 62, of Alexandria. He cycles to the Reflecting Pool nearly every day, he says, and had been watching the project with interest and trepidation, withholding judgment until the water came back.
“I’m not a Trump fan, but if it’s the right thing to do, it’s the right thing to do,” Wicks said. “So in this case, maybe it was. I don’t know.”
“I think it’s amazing,” said Michael Pavich, 17. “It’s going to reflect it nice and well. The darker it is, the more reflective the water is going to be.”
Pavich, who was visiting from San Diego, wore a “Trump 2028” hat. He was taking in the sights around D.C. and was happy to see the president’s improvements. “Trump, he’s doing amazing things,” Pavich said. “He’s a true leader, and [he’s] making it safe and beautiful.”
Not everyone agreed.
“I think it wasn’t necessary,” said a cyclist who had stopped by and removed his polarized sunglasses to see the water flowing. He declined to share his full name because he feared professional repercussions. “We could be spending the money in so many other, right, better ways.”
He referenced a sign he had seen on the Arlington Memorial Bridge that said the president was making D.C. safe and beautiful — a reference also to the National Guard troops deployed to the District at Trump’s urging last summer.
“D.C. was already safe and beautiful,” the cyclist said. “It’s all propaganda.”
As he touted the end of his Reflecting Pool renovation this week, Trump announced a new, nearby project: building a pedestrian bridge that would connect the National Mall with the Potomac River.
Historians and preservationists said they were exhausted by Trump’s pace and approach.
“Organizations that really care about our shared cultural heritage, we’re just forced to play a game of whack-a-mole,” Birnbaum said.
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