Trump Orders $1.5 Million Renovation of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

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President Donald Trump has ordered a $1.5 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, coating its decades-old granite surface with a new “American flag blue” finish. The project, announced last week, is part of a broader effort to refashion iconic landmarks in the nation’s capital under Trump’s administration.

The renovation follows complaints about the pool’s deteriorating condition, including leaks and filth. Trump said he was inspired to act after a friend visiting from Germany remarked on the pool’s poor state. “It’s filthy, dirty. The water is disgusting looking. It’s not representative of the country,” Trump recalled the friend saying during a White House event on April 23, 2026.

Trump announced that the project would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and would be completed in just a few weeks, ahead of the July 4, 2026, celebration of the 250th anniversary of U.S. Independence. The president said the new surface would be an “industrial grade pool” topping, applied over the existing granite, rather than replacing the stone, which he estimated would have cost $300 million and taken more than three years.

“We scrubbed the surface of the existing granite that’s been there since 1922. We then grouted all of the granite, fixed it up,” Trump explained in a video posted on Truth Social. “It took about two weeks, and now we have a nice, clean surface on which we’re putting an industrial grade swimming pool topping.”

The Reflecting Pool, a historic site where Martin Luther King Jr. Delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, last underwent a major renovation in 2012, a two-year project that cost $34 million. Trump’s renovation is the latest in a series of changes to Washington’s landmarks, including the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a $400 million ballroom and the proposed construction of a triumphal arch on an island in the Potomac River.

Trump’s decision to use a blue coating was influenced by a contractor, who argued that “American flag blue” was more appropriate than the turquoise color Trump initially preferred. The president has framed the renovation as a way to restore the pool to its former beauty, saying, “You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be, much better than it ever was.”

However, the project has drawn criticism from preservation groups and congressional Democrats, who argue that such changes should involve broader public input and congressional approval. Trump has defended the renovations as necessary maintenance and improvements to the nation’s capital.

Work on the Reflecting Pool began on April 23, 2026, with crews already visible on site by the following day. The project is expected to be completed well before the July 4 holiday.

This article was synthesized from verified reporting by AP News, NBC News, CBS News, and USA Today, all published on April 23, 2026.

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