U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to fire Washington, D.C., Attorney General Jeanine Pirro. The threat came after Pirro said that the damage to the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial was not vandalism.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, the president said, "I disagree 100 percent with Jeanine Pirro on the Reflecting Pool. In my opinion, this is a clear-cut case of VANDALISM." Arguing that Pirro should continue pursuing the case, Trump said, "Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism," adding that he was "really disappointed."
He backed away from firing decision
CNN reported, citing sources close to the matter, that Trump and Pirro had a "not particularly pleasant" conversation by phone on Saturday. After the two met in person at the White House on Monday, Trump temporarily backed away from his decision to fire the prosecutor, a longtime ally. Neither the White House nor Pirro's office issued an official statement on the matter.
Why were the charges dropped?
Olympic canoeist David Hearn, 67, was arrested in June on allegations that he had pulled up the pool's liner, causing more than $1,000 in damage. At a news conference on July 2, Attorney General Jeanine Pirro accused Hearn of "damaging government property" and said he faced up to 10 years in prison.
However, last week Pirro said the damage had resulted from "faulty installation" and did not constitute vandalism. The charges against Hearn were dropped, and the pool was drained. Pirro said that the "incomplete police reports" held by the prosecutor's office were misleading and that documents later provided by the Interior Department showed the damage resulted from faulty workmanship by the contractor.
A troubled $13.1 million project
The 618-meter-long Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial had been experiencing leakage problems for a long time. In April, the Trump administration awarded Atlantic Industrial Coatings a $13.1 million contract without seeking competitive bids to renovate the pool with a coating in "American Flag Blue."
Although the project was announced as completed in early June, a thick layer of green algae formed on the pool's surface within a few days, and the blue coating began to crack and peel. A National Park Service engineer determined on June 11 that the liner had peeled away.
In a court filing, Prosecutor Pirro said the damage had resulted from "excessive spraying and delamination" and was the product of faulty workmanship by the contractor. She also said that rushing the project to meet Independence Day celebrations had caused problems.
Who is Jeanine Pirro?
Born in New York in June 1951 to a family of Lebanese descent, Jeanine Pirro currently serves as Washington, D.C., Attorney General. Trump appointed her on an interim basis in May last year, and the Senate confirmed her in August 2025.
Pirro began her career as an assistant prosecutor in 1975 and became the first woman to serve as a judge on the Westchester County Court between 1990 and 1993. She served three terms as Westchester County District Attorney from 1994 to 2005. Pirro also played a role in establishing the first domestic violence unit in the United States and has written eight books.
