Washington, 04 August 2026
President Donald Trump is weighing the removal of Jeanine Pirro from her federal position after she submitted a court filing that blamed damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on flawed contractor work rather than vandalism, according to multiple sources.
The contemplated ouster was first reported by CNN, which cited five people familiar with the matter. According to those accounts, Trump has grown furious over the filing and is actively weighing whether to remove Pirro. The president has not publicly addressed the situation, and the precise timing of any decision remains unclear.
At issue is a document Pirro signed in connection with the case of David Hearn, the man accused of defecating in the Reflecting Pool on Independence Day. In the filing, Pirro wrote that Department of the Interior records indicated the damage was not the result of vandalism but the "flawed installation by the contractor … and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."
What the filing says
Pirro's filing drew on documentation from the Department of the Interior. According to that material, factors including rain, wind and delays in obtaining the sealing product "led to hasty and botched work" that was not corrected before the pool was refilled in early June. The document shifted responsibility for the damage away from Hearn and toward the construction process.
The legal case against Hearn has been handled in part by Jamison Koehler, an attorney whose name has appeared repeatedly in filings tied to the Reflecting Pool incident. The criminal proceedings remain ongoing, and it is not yet clear whether Pirro's assertions in the filing will have any effect on the underlying charges.
Trump's anger reportedly stems from the political optics of the filing. By attributing the damage to contractor error and the timing of the America 250 celebrations, the document appeared to undercut a narrative that the destruction had been caused by an individual act of vandalism during a high-profile national event.
Background on Pirro
Jeanine Pirro previously served as one of Fox News's most prominent pro-Trump hosts, a role that made her a familiar figure in conservative media before she joined the administration. Her current federal position placed her at the center of the Reflecting Pool case from its earliest stages, and the filing now at issue was issued under her name.
The Reflecting Pool sits on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial. The pool underwent a major rehabilitation in advance of the America 250 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and its condition ahead of the holiday festivities became a point of public attention.
Status of the deliberations
Within the administration, the fallout from the filing has triggered internal discussion about whether Pirro should remain in her post. According to the sources cited by CNN, no final decision has been made, and Trump continues to deliberate. The White House has not issued a formal statement responding to the reports.
The episode underscores the political sensitivity surrounding the America 250 preparations. With the Independence Day observances now past, officials have been reviewing what went right and what went wrong in the lead-up to the celebration, and Pirro's filing has become an unwelcome intrusion into that review for the president.
Legal observers note that the underlying case against Hearn will continue to move through the courts regardless of any personnel decision involving Pirro. Whether the Department of the Interior records cited in the filing are introduced as evidence at trial, or whether prosecutors seek to amend their theory of the case, remains to be seen.