The Reflecting Pool haunts Doug Burgum
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Doug Burgum is Trump's D.C. fixer. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
No one's more involved in President Trump's D.C. fix-it spree than Doug Burgum, the Interior secretary overseeing everything from fountain repairs to the East Potomac golf course.
Why it matters: But it's the Reflecting Pool situation — what started as a simple-enough paint job — that's putting Burgum in a weird spot, catching fire from D.C.'s top prosecutor (and Trump's old New York pal) Jeanine Pirro and fresh scrutiny from the media.
The big picture: The pool mess is overshadowing Burgum's other projects, like reviving the beloved fountains at Meridian Hill and Columbus Circle.
- What was supposed to beautify one of Washington's largest (or longest) landmarks has devolved into questions about rushed contracting, finger-pointing about nanobubblers and pool sealant, peeling paint, several arrests, and now dropped criminal charges.
- And it's generating headlines like this one in Politico: "Jeanine Pirro berated Doug Burgum. But Interior staffers have been angry at him for months."
Catch up quick: Interior claimed vandals ripped up the Reflecting Pool liner, leading federal prosecutors to charge a former U.S. Olympian, among others.
- But within a month, Pirro pulled a 180, throwing out Burgum's allegations of sabotage. The U.S. Attorney's office dropped the charges and instead blamed damages on a "botched installation."
- Cue: Trump, who said Pirro was "folding like an umbrella."
- Days later, Pirro appeared to be fighting for her job when she tore into Burgum face-to-face in the Oval Office, "accusing him of misleading the president," as told in the New York Times.
- Reports persist that Pirro might be on the outs.
"Secretary Burgum never misled the president and was very clear in all of his comments on the pool," a spokesperson for the Interior Department told the Times.
Zoom out: The controversy is snowballing amid broader complaints about Burgum's leadership at the Interior.
- Politico detailed several departures from the agency, including its Senate-confirmed legal counsel and a longtime staffer named Tony Irish, who says Burgum "appears to combine arrogance with an utter lack of curiosity or humility" toward the department's career staff.
- A spokesperson told the outlet Burgum leads a "high-performing team" with "gratitude, humility, curiosity and courage," denying criticisms.
Burgum, meanwhile, appears to still be in Trump's good graces.
Before all this, Burgum had been settling into life as a central player in Trump's efforts to remake D.C.
- The former two-term North Dakota governor moved to the city — not the suburbs — with his wife, as told on Katie Miller's podcast.
- "It's been fun to be back in an urban environment," Burgum said.
But asked whether he would rather spend three hours mowing the National Mall in a heat wave or answering questions about the Reflecting Pool?
- "Mowing. Easy," he said.
Now partially drained, the Reflecting Pool awaits another round of repairs.
💠It might be time for Burgum to pivot to that golf course. Town Talker is a column about money and power in Washington. Tell me about the talk of the town: [email protected]