Earthen barriers near Lock 10 on the C&O Canal help redirect sewage back into the Potomac Interceptor after a section of the six-foot-wide sewage pipe collapsed last month between the Clara Barton Parkway and the canal on Feb. 16, 2026 in Cabin John, Maryland.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is worried the stench of the Potomac River will put America 250 celebrations in a funk after a sewage pipe collapse near Washington, D.C. dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
“He is worried about that, which is why the federal government wants to fix it, and we hope that the local authorities will cooperate with us in doing so,” Leavitt said during a press briefing at the White House when asked if the president was worried about Washington, D.C. smelling like waste during celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The administration has a slew of events planned for the 250th anniversary of the United States, culminating in Independence Day celebrations on July 4. Many of the events will take place in Washington, D.C., which sits on the Potomac, and are likely to draw crowds of travelers.
Leavitt said the White House is still waiting on local governments in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to ask for federal help in cleaning up the mess. Trump has repeatedly blamed Democratic leadership in the two states and D.C. for the spill and has demanded they ask “politely” for federal assistance.
Trump has singled out Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland over the spill. The president also recently snubbed Moore from a National Governors’ Association event at the White House. Leavitt doubled down on the president’s badgering of Moore on Wednesday.
“There has been no improvement under the leadership of Gov. Moore,” Leavitt said. “He’s clearly shown he’s incapable of fixing this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in.”
Leavitt’s comments also add to a messy political fight that erupted this week over the spill, pitting Moore against Trump. Moore, who is the nation’s only Black governor, a frequent Trump foil, and often floated as a potential presidential contender in 2028, has asserted the failed pipe is within the jurisdiction of federal authorities.
President Donald Trump (L) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Getty Images | Reuters
“The sewage pipe that he is talking about is on federal land,” Moore said Wednesday at a Maryland Board of Public Works meeting. “And over these past four weeks, the Trump-Vance administration has failed to act.”
“To blame Maryland in this when this is a D.C. pipe on federal land is asinine, it is disingenuous, absurd and politically motivated,” Moore said.
The pipe that collapsed is owned and operated by DC Water, an independent public utility that has been handling the repairs. It is part of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line and is located alongside the Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland, just outside of the capital city. At least 200 million gallons of wastewater flooded into the Potomac after the pipe breach.
Moore on Wednesday also responded to Trump’s demands for him and other local Democratic leaders to ask for help.
“If the president wants me to ask nicely, my response is this: please, Mr. President, do your job,” Moore said.
Leavitt said she would relay Moore’s response to Trump and that the administration is drawing up plans to help in the recovery effort.
“I’ll ask the President, and we will provide you with the next steps,” Leavitt said at the Wednesday press briefing. “But in all seriousness, the federal government has been preparing plans.”
