President ​Donald Trump said on Friday (June 26, 2026) he ‌would repair the National ​Mall reflecting pool after ⁠July 4, as the landmark remains under heightened security and surveillance ‌amid ongoing controversy over its renovation and emerging ‌maintenance problems.

The reflecting pool, ‌located ⁠between the Lincoln Memorial ⁠and the Washington Monument, was the subject of a roughly $14 million Trump-directed ​renovation that aimed ‌to restore and recolour the basin ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, but has ‌since drawn scrutiny after ​reports of algae growth, peeling surface material and visible ⁠deterioration just weeks after completion.

Mr. Trump has blamed dark-of-night saboteurs ‌for the issues with the project.

While no evidence has emerged to support Mr. Trump’s claim that a vandal cut a 350-foot (107-meter) gash ‌in the pool, a National Park ​Service official said in a sworn court statement late ⁠on Wednesday that on June ⁠9, U.S. Park Police examined apparent intentional damage ‌to the pool.