Two Democratic senators are calling on the Interior Department's internal watchdog to investigate the troubled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, including what agency employees knew about the project's flaws and when they knew it.
Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sent a letter Tuesday to the Office of Inspector General requesting a probe into the peeling coating and other engineering problems at the iconic D.C. landmark. The lawmakers want to determine whether Interior officials misled the public or Congress about the pool's condition after a costly restoration.
"We write to request that the Office of Inspector General investigate what employees of the Department of the Interior (DOI) knew—and when they knew it—regarding the peeling of the coating and other engineering issues at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool," the senators wrote.
The request comes after the Justice Department moved Friday to drop a criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who had been charged with vandalizing the pool. In court filings, prosecutors acknowledged that documents from Interior "indicated a rushed and flawed installation process, with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process."
President Trump has publicly criticized the DOJ's reversal, blaming U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for what he called a weak decision. "The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious," Trump told reporters Monday. His comments have fueled questions about political interference in the case, a topic that has drawn attention from watchdogs and legal analysts.
The president has previously suggested that vandalism—rather than poor workmanship—was responsible for the pool's problems. He claimed vandals used a box cutter to slice a nearly 300-foot gash in the pool's lining and that fertilizer was poured in to trigger algae blooms. But the DOJ's filing contradicts that narrative, pointing to systemic installation failures.
The renovation, which included draining the pool and applying a blue coating, has been a flashpoint for criticism. Environmental groups and some lawmakers have argued the project was mismanaged, and the new request for an inspector general review adds to broader Democratic oversight efforts targeting the Trump administration's handling of federal properties.
Heinrich and Whitehouse are also seeking to determine whether Interior officials misrepresented the cause of the damage or failed to disclose known defects. Their letter asks for a full accounting of internal communications and decision-making related to the pool's repair.
The Interior Department has not yet commented on the senators' request. The OIG has not indicated whether it will open an investigation.
The Reflecting Pool, a symbol of American democracy, has become an unexpected political battleground. As the Democratic Party debates its strategy ahead of the midterms, the controversy underscores how even maintenance issues can become entangled in partisan fights over accountability and transparency.
