US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, after she announced that the government would not proceed with criminal charges of vandalism against former Olympic athlete David Hearn concerning damage to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The reflecting pool had undergone a multimillion-dollar refurbishment ahead of the 250th anniversary of US independence in 2026. Following the renovation, parts of the pool’s lining were observed floating on the surface, and algae caused the water to turn from blue to green. Trump attributed these issues to vandalism.

However, Pirro stated that it was only after the return of the indictment that the US Department of the Interior (DOI) provided additional documents indicating the damage was due to flawed installation by the contractor. On June 11, a National Park Service engineer had observed that the pool’s new lining had begun to peel.

Trump expressed his disagreement with Pirro’s decision in a post on his Truth Social Platform, saying, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S.”

Pirro has an extensive legal background, having started as an assistant district attorney in Westchester County, New York, in 1975 and later serving as the first female judge in the Westchester County Court from 1990 to 1993.

The reflecting pool project is among several changes to Washington, DC’s landscape pursued by Trump during his second term.

Sources