Company owned by Trump donor won $1.7 million no-bid Reflecting Pool contract

[Dulcinea]

(CBS News) Washington — The federal government awarded a company owned by a Trump donor a $1.7 million contract to install a new water cleaning system for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, federal records show, as President Trump pushes to overhaul the pool — and struggles with a bout of algae and a peeling paint job.

The no-bid contract to install a "Nano Bubble" filtration system went to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company whose owner is listed on federal contracting documents as "JJ Cafaro Investment Trust." The president and CEO of that trust is identified as John J. Cafaro on Federal Election Commission filings.

Cafaro has donated to several GOP candidates and conservative causes in recent years. He has donated extensively to Mr. Trump's campaign and to Trump-linked groups, giving $250,000 to the Trump Victory fundraising committee at one point in 2020. FEC records show he also made donations to Democrats at various points.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/company-owned-by-trump-donor-won-17-million-no-bid-reflecting-pool-contract-000248757.html

[underpants]

1. 😳

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221316465

[displacedvermoter]

3. And sometimes a cigar is just a phallic symbol...

[Srkdqltr]

2. Yes, but, we knew this from the beginning. Before the job was started. No one stopped it. Because. Trump

[chicoescuela]

4. He did say he had a pool guy who could fix the problem.

Who could have guessed he was telling the truth?

[Beatlelvr]

5. Are you sure this guy isn't from central casting?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. How the Reflecting Pool Turned Green: Missing 'Bubblers' and a Rush Job (New York Times Gift Article)

Bulky “nanobubbler” machines were carted off ahead of a promotional event for President Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship birthday party.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/us/politics/reflecting-pool-trump-algae.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tVA.2QwI.US81yGvYDJ99&smid=nytcore-android-share

Dotted around the perimeter of the memorial’s Reflecting Pool were the nanobubblers, the temporary water-purification machines meant to keep the pool clear of algae. Encased in black fencing and powered by large generators, the machines were something of an eyesore.

Before the event, the National Park Service asked Greenwater Services, which won a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install the nanobubblers, to remove them, according to two people briefed on the decision. The people asked for anonymity because they feared retaliation from the administration. The Park Service did not provide a reason for the removal, but it coincided exactly with the promotional event, which drew crowds to the Reflecting Pool.

Photos from that evening showed the pool without the hoses or enormous machines working to keep the water clean. The water looked dark blue.

But by the time the purification systems were reinstalled 36 hours later, enormous algae blooms were starting to spread unchecked, turning the water green.,,,,,

The decision to remove the water-treatment systems, which has not previously been reported, was one of several missteps that have plagued Mr. Trump’s $16.4 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool. There have been no-bid contracts, peeling strips of waterproof coating in Mr. Trump’s handpicked shade of “American flag blue,” and even a dead duck floating in the water (though it is not clear if the renovation had anything to do with the duck’s demise).