A GOP senator couldn't help but laugh when asked about Trump's algae-filled Reflecting Pool, according to a veteran D.C. reporter. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) was amused by reporter Joe Perticone's question about how the green, murky Reflecting Pool with floating strips of paint is looking, according to a new Substack piece by The Bulwark."It doesn't look very beautiful," Daines told Perticone, who noted the senator's laugh. "We gotta find out what went wrong with it; [it] needs to be corrected. It's a great part of the experience coming down to the Mall."Perticone added that Daines, in the past, has demanded fiscal responsibility from the federal government, including DOGE cuts and rescission packages. However, one of the more surprising answers, according to Perticone's piece, came from Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). Perticone wrote that the "surprising" response came after asking Lankford about the restoration project's cost."I have no way to be able to answer that," Lankford told Perticone. "But we do need to fix it, but I have no way to answer that. I've not been tracking that."Meanwhile, MAGA Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) echoed Trump's claim that the Reflecting Pool's state was caused by vandals."They need to be arrested and jailed and throw the key away," Tuberville, referring to the alleged vandals, told Perticone. "This is our nation's capital...Everything should look pristine."Perticone told Tuberville that there have not yet been arrests or evidence that the pool's deterioration resulted from vandalism, and Tuberville replied, "They've arrested people."
