The wild scene at the reflecting pool

First Up

Before Donald Trump got involved in its color scheme, did you spend any time at all thinking about the reflecting pool? I think I speak for most Washingtonians when I say: Me neither.

But last week, as City Cast’s Ben Brasch reported, the basin featured the sort of media presence more associated with the Capitol. Days after its Trump-inspired renovation, the water was algae green, not American flag blue. The only blue was the bobbing detritus from the sealant peeling off the bottom.

Over the weekend, the languid tourist spot resembled a busy Washington workplace: federal employees working to clear the pool, gawkers taking snapshots for posterity, National Guard members patrolling, reporters reporting.

The Atlantic tested the water to ID the specific algal bloom — which it says the current treatments probably won’t kill. The New York Times scoured campaign finance data and found that a Trump donor got a no-bid water-filtration contract for the pool. Conveniently, the contractor looks like a Disney-movie villain. As with all D.C. obsessions, the memes are flying fast and furious.

So are the conspiracy theories. On Friday, a former U.S. Olympian was arrested after snagging a piece of pool liner that he said had detached from the bottom. CNN reported a day later that there had been five arrests. Trump now claims vandalism is responsible for the whole mess. A large pro-Trump X account claimed Antifa helped saboteurs rip out sealant and dump “loads of live algae” into the pool.

And late yesterday, TMZ reported that a dead duck was floating in the pool.

It all feels like a great big metaphor for D.C., and maybe the country, in 2026. But it also serves as a reminder about those parts of our city that many of us only visit when we have out-of-town guests: It turns out that we really do care about how they look.

What D.C.'s Talking About

Returns Trickle In. Five days after Election Day, D.C.’s Board of Elections released an initial tabulation of ranked-choice votes for races where no candidate won more than 50% of first choices. The results confirmed the basic storyline that accompanied Janeese Lewis George’s win: Progressives won big. Democratic socialists Aparna Raj and Oye Owelewa snagged the two D.C. Council seats that remained in question. It took eight rounds of tabulation to get Owelewa over the top.

Movement Toward Socialism. D.C.’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter has added 1,000 members since this time last year, NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports in a smart look at the organization’s emergence as a “campaigning powerhouse.” Other postmortems have talked up residents’ alienation from high rents, or noted younger people’s warm views of socialism. Jira’s piece focuses instead on “what DSA does particularly well: door-knocking at scale.”

Speaking of Election Postmortems. There were plenty of other efforts to interpret the election. “Younger urban voters are turbocharging candidates who promise to go big on affordability and take on President Trump,” wrote Axios’ Cuneyt Dil. By contrast, the Washington Post editorial board, which spent the campaign assailing Lewis George as an extremist, says she won “by moderating and softening her tone.” A paper for clients of ArentFox Schiff added an interesting political prediction: D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson “will serve as the primary institutional counterweight to this progressive bloc.” (A co-author of the paper is former D.C. Councilmember David Grosso, now an attorney at the firm.)

Speed Kills. A moped rider was killed and two drivers hospitalized after police chased suspected car thieves driving down Connecticut Avenue on Saturday. Notable: The high-speed chase was carried out by the U.S. Park Police, not D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. MPD has a no-chase policy designed specifically to avoid endangering the public. But last year, Trump signed an executive order relaxing the high-speed chase rules for the Park Police, which is part of the federal government.

Post Local Rebuilds. After laying off most of its local news staff, the Washington Post is "looking to rebuild," the Status media newsletter reports. Status' Natalie Korach notes that the organization has posted four local news jobs, and a recent staff email announcing Theresa Vargas' elevation to Metro editor included just the sort of language that Posties used to use to justify DMV coverage. "Much of what happens in our backyard matters to readers here and across the nation," said the memo, co-written by editor Matt Murray.

Where’s Your Pin? The Interior Department is pushing staff to wear “freedom pins,” according to Mother Jones, with alleged threats of disciplinary action for abstainers. Although there’s nothing partisan about the Betsy Ross flag with a “250” on it, in today’s D.C. it’s the sort of thing that rankles a workforce already nervous about being treated as political actors. The pins are made by a firm that touts its Trump campaign merch. “Employees are excited to participate,” a flack told the liberal magazine, citing the story as an example of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Finally: D.C.’s Coolest Bathroom Graffiti? While everyone else was looking at the Reflecting Pool, City Cast’s Kaela Cote-Stemmermann was a few stories down, visiting the new “undercroft” display beneath the Lincoln Memorial. The mini-museum holds a Lincoln exhibit and a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. But it’s also home to graffiti from the memorial’s original workers, or possibly folks who’ve snuck in since then. One of the drawings — of a curly-haired woman smoking a cigarette — is thought to depict actress Gloria Swanson.

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