CNN's "Table for Five" erupted in crosstalk over the weekend as panelists fought over President Trump's $13.1 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — a project aimed at fixing decades of leaks and restoring the iconic landmark to its former glory ahead of America's 250th birthday celebrations.
Host Abby Phillip framed the spending as hypocrisy in the age of DOGE, questioning how the administration could fire federal workers over budget concerns while simultaneously funding pool renovations, White House East Wing repairs, and the regilding of statues near the Lincoln Memorial. Liberal panelist Touré piled on, invoking the costs of the Iran conflict and a sluggish economy as reasons the project was misplaced. But New York Post columnist Lydia Moynihan pushed back with the fact the media's selective memory seems determined to forget: the Obama administration spent $34 million on the same pool in 2012, shut it down for two years, and still left behind a festering, algae-covered swamp that locals described as smelling of wet dog.
"These are pennies when you consider what Democrats are proposing — spending trillions of dollars. So we should just let everything go to hell?" — Lydia Moynihan, New York Post
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made the same point on CNN's "State of the Union," demanding to know why there was no outrage when the Obama administration spent nearly three times as much for a pool that, by all accounts, still didn't work. Trump's version — which he has ordered coated in a patriotic shade dubbed "American flag blue" — is designed to stop a reported 16 million gallon-per-year leak from expansion joints in the aging basin. Former Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, also on the CNN panel, defended the project as entirely appropriate for a nation marking its semiquincentennial. "At the end of the day, it's the 250th anniversary of the U.S. It is good that we are prioritizing making D.C. safe, healthy, attractive," he said.
Critics have noted that the current contractor — awarded the project without competitive bidding — has seen costs balloon from an initial estimate of $1.8 million to the current $13.1 million price tag, and may not address underlying plumbing issues beneath the basin. Trump has set a target of July 4th completion. Whether the renovated pool holds water — literally and politically — remains to be seen.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool spans six acres and holds approximately four million gallons of water. It has been plagued by structural leaks for decades, with the pool's concrete slabs expanding and contracting with temperature changes and repeatedly breaking their seals. The Trump administration's renovation is timed to align with the national 250th anniversary celebrations planned for July 4, 2026.
The media's sudden fiscal outrage over $13 million rings hollow when the same voices spent years cheerleading for trillion-dollar spending packages without blinking. Restoring one of America's most iconic monuments as the nation turns 250 is not a DOGE contradiction — it's exactly the kind of thing a government should be doing. Americans can walk and chew gum at the same time, even if CNN's panel cannot.