The contractor responsible for renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has informed the government that errors in its own work and flaws in the repair plan, rather than vandalism, caused the pool liner to peel. As reported by the New York Times, documents reviewed by government officials indicate that Atlantic Industrial Coatings identified problems in both the design and the execution of the project. This information stands in contrast to the repeated claims made by President Donald Trump, who has blamed the damage on vandals wielding knives or box cutters. The project was part of a rushed effort to finish the renovation before the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4. Because of this timeline, the government bypassed competition and granted a no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to carry out an untested approach. This plan was designed in part by the general manager of one of the golf clubs owned by President Trump. The government has agreed to pay the company $14.7 million for the work. The Reflecting Pool repair has been a hotbed of issues over the last few months According to the documents, which include reports from Atlantic to the government and daily updates from the National Park Service, the company acknowledged its own role in the failure. In a report dated August 14, Atlantic noted that “human oversight” led to an insufficient application of the primer meant to bond the layers of the liner. The contractor that renovated the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has told the Trump administration that errors in its own work and flaws in the repair plan, not vandalism, caused the pool’s new blue liner to peel and break loose, documents show. https://t.co/O2a2TRrSHd— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 11, 2026 A more significant issue arose from the repair plan itself, which required the use of two incompatible chemicals. The top layer generated heat that exceeded what the bottom layer could withstand, causing the material to blister and pull away from the surface. The contractor stated it had not anticipated this result because mixing the products in that manner is highly uncommon. Even after federal prosecutors began moving to dismiss vandalism charges against individuals in late July, President Trump continued to attribute the damage to vandals. While he admitted in a social media post on August 9 that there was no video or proof of vandalism, he still claimed the contractor error was a very small and inconsequential part of the project. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, previously noted that the Interior Department had misled her staff regarding the cause of the damage, suggesting it stemmed from a botched installation rather than criminal activity. Repairs are currently ongoing, and the pool remains drained. On Thursday, workers were seen removing large strips of the blue coating, while inspection teams monitored the process. Atlantic has stated that it will use a smaller, more closely supervised team to complete the repairs under the existing warranty. The company even explored the possibility that sweat from workers in protective suits was trapping moisture under the coating, leading to further blistering. Interior Department spokeswoman Katie Martin did not directly address the contractor’s findings in her statement. She maintained that vandals had repeatedly reached into the pool to rip at the coating and noted that Atlantic is well on its way to completing the repairs. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers offered a statement, saying, “President Trump promised to make D.C. safe and beautiful, and he’s delivering.” Atlantic Industrial Coatings has not responded to requests for comment regarding the situation.