US President Donald Trump publicly disagreed with his own Justice Department’s findings regarding the damage to the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. On Saturday, August 1st, 2026, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he “disagree[s] 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia,” who had stated the damage was due to a flawed installation rather than vandalism. Trump called it a “pure case of VANDALISM.”

The $14.7 million renovation of the pool faced criticism after the lining began peeling and algae blooms tinted the water green. Trump had repeatedly accused vandals of intentionally sabotaging the project.

However, in a court filing on Friday, Jeanine Pirro and Assistant US Attorney Michael Spence requested a judge to drop the Trump administration’s case against David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympian accused of vandalizing the pool. Federal prosecutors cited documents from the Department of the Interior indicating a rushed and flawed installation process with repeated failures and extensive peeling of the pool’s lining.

The case has become a flashpoint amid Trump’s efforts to reshape Washington.

Sources