1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Congress needs to investigate the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool renovation immediately. Trump's project ballooned from a $1.8 million estimate to $14.2 million in taxpayer money, and the contract was handed without competitive bidding to Atlantic Industrial Coatings Ltd — a Virginia company with no history of government work, but a history of working on Trump's golf resort. That's not how public procurement is supposed to work. The justification Trump offered was that "I have a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools. He called me up." That is not a contracting process. It's a favor. Days after the pool was refilled, workers were already scraping algae off the bottom. For $14.2 million, the public deserves accountability, not spin about "normal startup processes." Hold hearings, demand the contracting records, and make clear that federal dollars cannot be steered to political allies through no-bid deals.