Analysis: Reflecting Pool Contract Has ‘Inflated’ Profit Margin

Donald Trump said his renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would cost “only” $1.8 million. The project is currently behind schedule and the cost has ballooned to $13 million.

Plus – it seems the contractor doing the work is being paid a much higher profit margin than typically paid.

The contractor working on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being paid an inflated and excessive profit margin, according to federal documents obtained by The New York Times. nyti.ms/4dz0oSb

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) May 27, 2026 at 10:55 AM

From the New York Times:

A National Park Service analysis found that the contractor given a no-bid contract to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being paid an inflated and excessive profit margin, according to federal documents obtained by The New York Times.

That analysis, prepared by a Park Service contracting specialist, found that the typical profit margin of federal construction contracts like this one is 6 percent to 12 percent.

But the firm fixing the Reflecting Pool, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, submitted a bid that charged 20 percent, adding at least $850,000 to what a more typical contract would have cost.

The Park Service accepted that bid after a contracting official reasoned that the company deserved it for accepting a difficult job on a tight deadline. The government eventually agreed to pay the firm $13.1 million, which is seven times the amount that President Trump initially said the work would cost.

Read more here.

During testimony at a congressional hearing two weeks ago, Interior Sec. Burgum didn’t even know the name of the contractor who’s doing the work.

NEGUSE: My understanding is a no bid contract is reserved for situations where delay would cause serious injury. What’s the injury with the reflecting pool?

BURGUM: We had 19 fountains across the city that didn’t work

NEGUSE: That’s the serious injury to the government?! And… pic.twitter.com/r4gZIunKkX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 13, 2026