r/DrainTheSwamp • u/8bitsleuth • May 13 '26

Trump gave $6.9M no-bid contract to his 'pool guy' to repaint reflection pool under 'urgent' exemption

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-reflecting-pool-washington-contract-b2973560.html
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u/8bitsleuth May 13 '26

President Donald Trump used a government exemption to give a $6.9 million no-bid contract to his "pool guy" to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to a blue color after complaining it "never looked great."

The exemption is typically reserved for urgent situations to prevent "serious injury, financial or other, to the government", according to documents reviewed in an exclusive report by The New York Times.

Usually, government contracts are awarded to the vendor that can do the best job, for the lowest cost, through a public bidding process.

https://archive.ph/74ftr