Overview
- Work on the pool is active and the basin remains drained on Friday, May 22, with crews applying coatings, fencing the site, and restricting public access along the National Mall.
- Federal records put the contract at $13.1 million after scope additions while President Trump has said the total will be under $20 million and set a public target of completing the project by July 4.
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation sued under the National Historic Preservation Act to stop the work, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols did not issue an injunction after saying any harm appeared temporary and reparable.
- The Interior Department and Justice Department defend using an urgency-based exclusion and a streamlined review for what they call routine maintenance, a pathway critics say bypassed normal consultation and environmental review.
- Conservationists object to the ordered dark blue resurfacing that they say will change the pool’s mirror effect, and the dispute highlights broader scrutiny of fast-tracked, no-bid Washington construction projects and their public cost.