I started the final phase of the Reflecting Pool renovation, which was supposed to cost $301 million and take three years, but with the help of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and his Department it was instead completed for $2 million in one week.
Evidence and Verdict
For
AP News reports that, in the president’s telling, he scrapped plans to replace the granite of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that he said were estimated to cost $301 million and take at least three years. The AP article also reports the president described having the pool coated instead of replacing the granite, presenting that change as a substantially lower-cost, faster solution.
Against
The AP piece frames these statements as the president’s account and does not independently verify the $301 million/three-year estimate or the alternative cost and timeline. The article does not corroborate the specific assertion that the work was completed for $2 million in one week, nor does it report involvement by a Secretary of the Interior named Doug Burgum in completing the work.
Verdict
The available source records that the president made the $301 million/three-year vs. lower-cost/coating claim, but the reporting treats it as his account and does not independently verify the $2 million/one-week completion or the named Interior Secretary’s involvement, so the claim is partially supported but contains unverified or contradicted elements.
Sources
Trump says Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being coated | AP News
Trump says Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being coated | AP News - Apr 25, 2026
In Trump’s telling, the reflection pool project is a case study in business acumen. The president said he scrapped plans to have the granite replaced, which he said was estimated to cost $301 milli...
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