Trump-linked group's diesel spill on National Mall costs taxpayers $1.8 million in cleanup

The federal government paid nearly $2 million in an emergency no-bid contract to clean up a diesel fuel spill caused by Freedom 250, the shadowy organization through which President Donald Trump is administering the nation's semiquincentennial celebrations.

The Incident

In May, Freedom 250 and Event Strategies Inc.—a company tied to Trump—installed temporary lighting while setting up the Great American State Fair on the National Mall. On May 20, fuel lines on the lighting equipment spilled at least 30 gallons of fuel onto the Mall. The fuel seeped underground, contaminating rainwater repositories used to irrigate the grounds. A second spill of an unknown quantity occurred shortly afterward.

The Cleanup Contract

The government awarded a "rushed, no-bid contract" worth $1.8 million for the cleanup, as reported by Anna Kramer of NOTUS on Friday. The contract was given to Custom Lawn Service Inc., a Maryland-based business. It took two months for the contract to be posted publicly on USASpending.gov. Officials told Kramer the delay was due to the "emergency nature of the situation."

Cause of the Spill

Government records reported in May by The New York Times suggest the spill resulted from negligence, originating "from event-related equipment that lacked required secondary and tertiary containment measures."

However, the Trump administration has described problems with the 250th celebrations as the work of left-wing saboteurs—and this instance was no different. The administration alleged that vandals slashed the fuel lines.

Who Normally Pays?

The government does not typically cover cleanup costs for such incidents. Permit holders are usually held "liable for the environmental mitigation after a spill of such magnitude," according to NBC News. Hundreds of concerned citizens petitioned for Freedom 250—not taxpayers—to be held financially responsible, but their calls were apparently ignored.

Cost Overruns

The $1.8 million price tag is significantly higher than initial estimates. According to The Times, the National Park Service was seeking a contractor for $1.1 million in May, and an Interior Department spokesperson said the cleanup "could end up costing far less."

Read more about Freedom 250: How Trump Lied to People Trying to Donate to America250

Trump Administration Threatens to Jail State Officials Who Refuse Election Demands

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The Trump administration has pledged to withhold federal grants unless states "scrub" their voter rolls—and to imprison state officials who refuse to comply.

Homeland Security Secretary's Announcement

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced during a press conference in Washington on Friday that state officials who refuse the administration's new election demands could face jail time.

"If the states choose not to participate with the state program, and they choose not to participate in securing the elections, we will make sure that we make those states a priority to look at who voted in their states, and hold them—the election officials—accountable," Mullin said. "If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even—depending on how far it goes—prison time."

Context

The pledge came hours after Donald Trump delivered a national address that included numerous factual inaccuracies and vast exaggerations about his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, and weaponized those conspiracies to undermine trust in future elections.

Mullin also stated:

"Working with [Commerce] Secretary [Howard] Lutnick, we are going to make our security enhancements mandatory. Meaning that if these states want a grant, and they want to be reimbursed to run federal elections, they are going to have to implement security issues. Just security issues. We're not trying to get into anything else, but we're saying that the machines have to be s..."