Trump donor's firm awarded $1.7 million no-bid contract for Lincoln Reflecting Pool water treatment

The U.S. Department of the Interior granted Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based water-treatment company linked to major Republican donor John J. Cafaro, a $1.7 million contract to install a nano-bubble filtration system at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The award was made without a full competitive bidding process under a rule that allows expedited procurement for projects deemed of "unusual and compelling urgency," citing the need to complete work before the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4.

Federal records list the contract recipient as the "JJ Cafaro Investment Trust," with Cafaro identified as the trust’s president and CEO. Cafaro has contributed sizable sums to Republican campaigns and causes, including $250,000 to the Trump Victory fundraising committee in 2020, and has also made donations to Democratic candidates.

"This contract was awarded by the Department of Interior; the White House did not play any role in the selection process," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.

Cafaro, who previously pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and to conspiring to bribe a Democratic congressman, declined to comment directly, referring inquiries to the National Park Service. In a statement to a local Ohio newspaper, he said the president "doesn't know a thing about" his company's work and that the issue was being raised by "people who don't seem to like Trump."

The contract follows a separate $14.7 million no-bid award to Atlantic Industrial Coatings for sealant installation on the pool’s stone floor. Shortly after water was re-filled, a thin algae layer appeared and portions of the newly applied sealant began to peel. An Interior Department spokesperson attributed the algae to residual growth in stagnant supply lines and described it as part of the normal startup process, later noting that the nano-bubble system had "very effectively killed the algae."