AOC slams $16M Reflecting Pool renovation after algae turns water green: 'Turned it into a swamp'

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) mocked President Donald Trump on Tuesday, June 23, over the troubled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has turned green from algae blooms despite the multimillion-dollar project.

The pool was renovated under a $13.1 million no-bid contract awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, to give it an "American flag blue" finish. Instead, the pool has been plagued by algae, and visitors have reported paint peeling away from the bottom, with some tourists pulling off pieces of the peeling paint as souvenirs.

AOC says administration 'talked a bunch of smack'

Ocasio-Cortez was asked about the situation Tuesday by Pablo Manríquez of MeidasTouch at the Capitol. She tied the pool's problems to the administration's approach to science funding.

"I mean, when you defund science research, when you don't really understand the first thing about science, yeah, they talked a bunch of smack," said the congresswoman. "They said that they had to repaint the pool, and now they've turned the place into a swamp. They've turned it into an actual swamp."

Ocasio-Cortez also linked the renovation project to broader spending issues. "You know, Pete Hanks is asking for another $30 billion for Iran," she noted. "This is somebody that's kind of going for the project right now. I'm sure he wants a bunch of other money for any other bells and whistles and personal expenditures."

Asked whether the congresswoman opposes the project, Ocasio-Cortez replied: "Yes, of course. Of course."

Renovation contract garners criticism

The renovation has drawn additional scrutiny over how it was contracted.

The New York Times reported last week that the pool's water purification system was installed under a separate no-bid contract awarded to Greenwater Services, a company owned by the JJ Cafaro Trust.

The trust is headed by John J. Cafaro, who pleaded guilty in 2001 to bribing a congressman and later testified against him.

The pool has also attracted attention for the security measures put in place around it.

The Trump administration has put up chain-link fencing and surveillance cameras at the memorial site, and the Justice Department has prosecuted vandalism cases connected to the memorial, although reports have pointed out inconsistencies in the way such cases are treated compared with other vandalism cases around the country.

The White House and Atlantic Industrial Coatings have not publicly discussed the algae and paint problems at the pool in detail.

As the pool’s look has continued to draw public attention in recent weeks, the project has become a recurring subject of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and commentators.