The Trump administration’s no-bid, $13.1 million contract to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool featured “excessive” profit margins” and “inflated overhead,” according to federal documents.
The deal, awarded to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, saw the contractor ask for 20 percent profits, roughly doubling the typical 6 to 12 percent margin on such projects, netting it at least $850,000 in extra compensation, per a National Parks Service analysis obtained by The New York Times.
The Reflecting Pool project contained other irregularities, the paper found, including that work reportedly began before a final price was agreed upon, a method more typically used in emergencies.
Ultimately, however, the government decided to move forward with the deal, according to the documents.
“The contracting officer determined that due to the risk of the project, the inflated overhead and profit percentages of 20 percent were reasonable,” the analysis concluded.
The Trump administration defended the contracting process, arguing the Virginia company was the only one able to finish the pool renovation ahead of American 250th anniversary celebrations this summer.
“The company selected was the only company that had the expertise, staff, and materials necessary to complete the project in time for major celebrations ahead of our 250th,” the Department of the Interior told The Independent in a statement.
“The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th,” the agency, which oversees the park service, added. “It is important to note that the contract was handled by career civil servants.”
The Independent has contacted Atlantic Industrial Coatings for comment.
The president defended the project during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, falsely claiming his Democratic predecessors had spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to fix the pool.
“The Biden administration and the Obama administration spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to get it to work,” Trump claimed, adding, “They spent hundreds of millions, over $100 million.”
The Obama administration in fact only spent about $35 million, and the Biden White House did not pursue any major repairs.
President Trump initially claimed the pool resurfacing could be completed for $1.5 million and said a contractor who did work on a Trump golf course would be involved, though Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later clarified Trump’s “guy” was in fact not involved in the Lincoln Memorial project.
The president drove down the emptied pool earlier this month with his entourage and praised the construction crews working on the project, who are refinishing the surface of the pool and painting it bright blue.
Trump has moved at breakneck speed to remake Washington monuments during his administration as part of a wider effort to spruce up the capital amid America 250 celebrations, awarding no-bid contracts and pursuing the unilateral demolition of the White House East Wing.
