Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday unveiled the latest phase of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation, announcing that workers are installing a new “American flag blue” floor as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to beautify the nation’s capital.
“Renovations are underway!” Burgum wrote on the social platform X, alongside a photo of crews applying the blue base to the iconic water feature. He thanked Trump for “investing in our capital,” adding that “the Reflecting Pool is about to look better than ever!”
The project, which began Thursday, is expected to take three days and cost roughly $1.5 million, Trump announced during an Oval Office press briefing. The president described the new floor color as made of the “latest and greatest filament” in “American flag blue.”
Trump said the pool will reopen “long before” America’s 250th birthday celebration on the National Mall this summer. “You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be,” he told reporters. “Much better than it was, actually.” The president also noted that robots will handle future cleaning of the pool.
The reflecting pool, which stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War II Memorial and spans the length of 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, has undergone multiple renovations since its dedication in 1922. The Obama administration requested $34 million in stimulus funding for a renovation in 2012, and the National Park Service periodically drains it for maintenance.
This latest project is part of Trump’s broader push to “beautify” Washington, a goal he first outlined in a March 2025 executive order. That order also led to his controversial deployment of the National Guard to the district to crack down on crime. The administration has launched a task force focused on making the city “safe and beautiful again,” and has overseen restoration projects for historic fountains, public golf courses, and parks.
Trump’s proposed 2027 budget requests an additional $10 billion for his Presidential Capital Stewardship Program, which funds these initiatives. The president has also turned the reflecting pool into a swimming-style project, drawing attention to his administration’s focus on the capital’s aesthetics amid broader political and economic debates.
Critics have questioned the prioritization of such projects, especially as a recent Gallup poll shows nearly half of Americans rate the economy as “poor” ahead of the midterm elections. However, Trump and his allies argue that the renovations enhance national pride and tourism ahead of the 250th anniversary.
