Trump’s contracting controversies in the spotlight after no-bid Reflecting Pool deal

The Trump administration’s decision to award a Trump-tied business a $1.7 million no-bid contract to clean up the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool is renewing scrutiny over other deals inked by Trump officials with politically connected contractors.

Federal spending records show that the National Park Service sought only one vendor, Greenwater Services, to install a water purification system in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this spring. However, the newly renovated pool has since turned green again, due to algae blooms, instead of the intended “American flag Blue.”