APTOPIX Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
National Park Service workers stand near a pump placed next to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Friday, July 10, 2026, in Washington.
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Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool again as President Donald Trump's problem-plagued effort to renovate the site pushes past his initial July 4 deadline. The president initially suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom. Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told a conservative podcaster that the draining was planned and that the water might still contain debris from the Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.
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