WASHINGTON (TNND) — White House press secretary said during a Thursday briefing that President Donald Trump is “worried” that the Potomac River could smell like poop come time of Washington’s “America 250” festivities.
Leavitt said the sewage leaking into the Potomac River is a “problem we want to fix,” especially as the nation prepares to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.
In mid-January, part of a sewage pipeline, known as the Potomac Interceptor, located in Maryland collapsed. DC Water, which manages the pipeline, announced just a couple of weeks ago that roughly 243 million gallons of sewage has overflowed into the river.
President Donald Trump blasted Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for the “massive Ecological Disaster” on TruthSocial.
In a subsequent post made on Tuesday, Trump called for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. to “IMMEDIATELY” clean up the mess, saying they are “responsible.”
“If they can’t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed. The Federal Government is not at all involved with what has taken place, but we can fix it,” he continued.
Leavitt echoed Trump’s sentiment during Wednesday’s press briefing, saying Moore himself is “incapable” of fixing the problem.
“It’s no secret that Maryland’s water and infrastructure have been in dire need of repair,” Leavitt said.
“Their infrastructure has received a nearly failing grade in the 2025 report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. This is the same grade they received five years earlier, there has been no improvement under the leadership of Governor Moore.”
Let’s all hope and pray that this governor does the right thing, and ask President Trump to get involved, because it will be an ecological and environmental disaster if the federal government does not step in to help,” Leavitt continued.
But amid the press conference, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy alerted Leavitt that Moore posted a video to social media, in which he politely requested for Trump’s help.
“If the president wants me to ask nicely, my response is this: ‘Please Mr. President, do your job,’” Moore said in the clip of remarks from a Wednesday meeting of Maryland’s Board of Public Works.
Moore also accused the President of “lying” to the public with his characterization of the disaster.
He shared that the sewage pipe which broke is located on federal land, and is the responsibility of the federal government. He shared that Maryland officials were “onsite within hours of the leak to help coordinate the response and protect the public.” Moore also said that the EPA was invited to attend a two hour hour legislative hearing, in which Maryland agencies and DC Water presented updates, but EPA officials did not show up.
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