Who Is John Cafaro? Trump Donor Scrutinized Amid Reflecting Pool Debacle
John J. Cafaro, a businessman who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Donald Trump, is coming under scrutiny over alleged ties to the company contracted to install a water purification system in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after algae blooms have returned.
The renovation of the Reflecting Pool, the latest Washington, D.C. landmark to undergo a transformation during Trump's tenure, has drawn criticism after algae spread across its surface, turning the water green.
Federal contract records show that a $1.7 million contract was given to Greenwater Services, a business based in Brookfield, Ohio, to install a "nano bubble" device to kill algae. The New York Times reported that the business is owned by J.J. Cafaro Investment Trust, which is led by Cafaro.
Cafaro has donated hundreds of thousands to Trump over the years, including a $250,000 donation in 2020 and a $100,000 donation in 2024, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by Newsweek.
Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, told the Times that the company was "selected because they had the expertise, workforce and materials" and that the White House was not involved.
Newsweek reached out to Greenwater Services for comment via email.
Who Is John J. Cafaro?
Cafaro's LinkedIn profile describes him as a "longtime Ohio retail and manufacturing executive who has guided major development projects, including the South Hill Mall and Meadowbrook Mall." He has also overseen assets in Florida and West Virginia.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to bribing former Congressman James Traficant Jr., an Ohio Democrat, and was expected to testify against him, the Times reported. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to a campaign finance crime, according to Cleveland.com.
Contract Comes Under Scrutiny
The contract drew scrutiny from some prominent Democrats on Friday.
"You can't make this s*** up," Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, wrote on X.
"This is Trump donor and Mar-a-Lago neighbor John Cafaro who got the no-bid contract to install a water purification system for the reflecting pool. He has 2 prior convictions, one for bribing a member of Congress and another for an illegal loan that violated campaign finance," Moe Davis, a former U.S. Air Force colonel and congressional candidate, wrote on X.
This is a breaking news story. Updates will follow.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 1:33 PM.