Between reporters harping on an algae bloom and vandals allegedly chipping away at its fresh coat of paint, the Lincoln Memorial’s newly renovated reflecting pool has been receiving a lot of unwanted attention lately.
While the algae is now under control and several suspects have been arrested in connection with the vandalism, at least one Republican on Capitol Hill thinks it might be a better idea in the long run to re-envision the entire space.
The Hill provided this report:
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday had an outside-the-box idea to address algae growth in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
ADVERTISEMENT“Honestly, I think it’d be cool if they just let it go and create an ecosystem, have fish in there and everything. … I think that’d be a really … cool way to go,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill, according to MeidasTouch.
Renovations on the Reflecting Pool wrapped up earlier this month, with Atlantic Industrial Coatings receiving more than $14.6 million through a federal contract for the project.
The project included repainting the base of the pool a shade of blue to match the American flag. The paint, however, began peeling off the bottom of the pool days after the project finished.
His remarks fueled a range of reactions on social media:
We all know democrats will just stand around waiting for a duck to die and blame Trump for it.
Pathetic useful idiots.
— B (@B9kvgmn) June 24, 2026
Yes. I like this idea. It came from a Republican? I'm genuinely shocked.
— GoLongNotShort PhD (@FUDHelpdesk) June 24, 2026
He’s right. When my childhood swimming pool’s pump broke, my father never repaired it because all the kids were gone and no one ever used it.
One year, my brother and I caught a bunch of bream and bass from a nearby lake and dumped them in it. Frogs and turtles moved in after.
— Extra Cheese (@ExtraCheezey) June 24, 2026
Yahoo News provided additional details:
On Tuesday, the MeidasTouch Network asked Burchett for his reaction to the controversy.
“It’s algae. It’s science. It’s just going to happen,” he replied.
ADVERTISEMENT“It’ll be darker, of course. You’ve got a filtration system and you’re going to have to hit it with the chlorine … or bleach or whatever. I know they did peroxide, there’s other methods too.”
And here’s what’s being done to protect the monument against vandalism in the meantime:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!