A $37,263 federal contract for temporary fencing around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool runs through 8 January 2027, according to procurement documents reviewed by The Independent. The barrier was erected after the basin was drained for the second time this summer, and on-site inspections by multiple news organisations and local observers found no visible evidence of the 300-yard gash that President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed was cut into the new liner by vandals. The National Park Service has not issued a public statement on the timeline for removing the fence, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.

President Trump has offered shifting accounts of the alleged damage. In posts on Truth Social, he initially described a 250-foot cut on 20 June, then revised the figure to 300 feet, 350 feet, and most recently 300 yards. He asserted that the liner was slashed and then pulled upward “with great force” by “thugs,” and separately claimed that fertiliser was dumped into the water to promote algae. The White House has not released any evidence to support these claims. At least seven people have been arrested in connection with the pool, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who has pleaded not guilty to destruction of government property. Prosecutors allege Hearn was seen pulling up the liner; Hearn has stated he merely touched a detached piece out of curiosity.

Viewed from Washington, the episode has become a focal point for criticism of the renovation project’s management. The initial cost estimate of $1.8 million to $2 million has risen to more than $15 million. The blue-tinted waterproofing liner, which Trump said was selected on the advice of a contractor who worked on his Virginia golf course, began peeling in large sections shortly after installation. A persistent algae bloom, which the president attributed to sabotage, has been a documented problem at the shallow pool for years, linked by ecologists to rapid warming and nutrient inflows from the Tidal Basin. Public Citizen, a non-profit watchdog, described the fencing as an attempt to prevent citizens from displaying peeling paint flakes and publicising what it called a costly mistake.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the renovation, arguing that the original dark grey basin was integral to the visual connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and that a blue tint is more suited to a resort setting. The contract for the fence was awarded to National Construction Rentals, Inc. of Mission Hills, California — the same firm hired by the Secret Service in 2019 to erect barricades around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. With the pool empty and the barrier in place, the next known step is the scheduled expiration of the fencing contract in early 2027, though the administration has not confirmed whether the barrier will remain for that full term.