A company owned by a Trump donor, JJ Cafaro Investment Trust, won a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install a new water cleaning system at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The contract was awarded without a competitive bidding process and has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The company, Green Water Solutions, is owned by John J. Cafaro, who has donated extensively to Trump’s campaign and other conservative causes. Despite pleas from Cafaro claiming that Trump “doesn’t know a thing” about his company’s work on the Reflecting Pool, the president took a personal interest in the project, including selecting the color of an industrial-grade sealant.
The no-bid contract was awarded due to “unusual and compelling urgency,” citing the need to fix the pool by July 4. The system, called Nano Bubble, is designed for water remediation in sensitive environments and is used to kill algae. However, concerns remain about the lack of transparency and potential conflicts of interest.
Green Water Solutions has received another government contract, a $1 million one in 2025, for a feasibility study on using its Nano Bubble system to treat sewage flows in the Tijuana River. The company also appears to have done work on a Trump Organization property.
The Reflecting Pool has struggled with algae blooms and peeling paint jobs, prompting the government to seek a solution. Despite assurances that the Nano Bubble system is effective, issues arose shortly after its installation, including an algae bloom and peeling sealant.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news