David Schutzenhofer, the longtime general manager of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, stepped in as an unpaid adviser on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool overhaul. Federal records show he contacted vendors, including Greenwater Services, months before any contracts were awarded, despite lacking engineering or architectural credentials. Interior Department officials said he offered suggestions without becoming a government employee.

The outreach helped secure a $1.7 million no‑bid contract for Greenwater to install a permanent filtration system, while a separate award gave Atlantic Industrial Coatings a $13.1 million job to apply a blue‑tinted waterproof coating. Critics note the contracts deviate from the National Park Service’s original plan to simply seal slab joints, raising questions about cost overruns and procurement oversight.

Lawyers and ethics experts warn that Schutzenhofer’s informal role sidestepped standard conflict‑of‑interest agreements, leaving no paper trail to police potential favors. The reflecting pool, plagued for decades by leaks and algae, now faces scrutiny from a lawsuit claiming the new blue hue turns a historic basin into a resort‑style pool. The renovation proceeds under heightened political and legal pressure.