Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., accused Trump of trying to “pay off his friends” using the projects, alluding to reporting linking a Republican donor to a firm that received a no-bid contract for Reflecting Pool renovations:

“It’s not just an excessive use [of federal funds], but it’s obviously a way to pay off his friends if you look at the contractor here. This has been a disaster from start to finish. … The president doesn’t know what he’s doing even as he pretends he does.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., called the renovations at the Reflecting Pool and elsewhere on federal property in DC a “perfectly appropriate use” of taxpayer dollars:

“If you have a federal asset, particularly something as historical as the Reflecting Pool, you’ve got to maintain it. That’s a perfectly appropriate use of taxpayer money, as far as I’m concerned.”

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., argued the ongoing repairs were a long time coming:

“The Reflecting Pool is one of those things that has been in need of renovation for a very long time. We’re seeing renovations on the House and Senate buildings that have been ongoing for 10 years.”