CNN panel erupts over Trump's $13M Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation after DOGE-era cuts

The multimillion-dollar price tag attached to President Donald Trump's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool made waves Saturday on CNN's "Table for Five" as panelists clashed over whether the project was a justified investment in the nation’s capital or a sign of misplaced priorities.

Host Abby Phillip questioned the $13 million cost incurred so far by repairs to the Reflecting Pool, along with other renovations in D.C., including the White House's East Wing overhaul and the regilding of statues surrounding the Lincoln Memorial.

"Is it just monopoly money to the president at this point? We just got through DOGE, when they fired, you know, a bunch of federal employees claiming that every penny mattered, and now nothing matters?"

New York Post columnist Lydia Moynihan rebutted, touting the value of making Washington safer and more beautiful and comparing Trump's aesthetic resurfacing of the pool to former President Barack Obama's $35 million restructuring effort.

"These are pennies when you consider what Democrats are proposing spending trillions of dollars [on]," she said.

"There are things that we do every day, finding fraud, Trump Rx ... There's all kinds of policies like that he's implementing that are good, and we're just not talking about them on this show."

Watch: Trump Reveals Flashy New Color For National Mall's Reflecting Pool Makeover

By that point, the panel had erupted into argument, with guests speaking over one another. Journalist Touré pointed to Trump's statement that the federal government could not pay for childcare , the high cost of gas and the rising cost of the war with Iran.