Earthworks near Lock 10 on the C&O Canal helped divert sewage back to the Potomac Interceptor after a section of the 6-foot-wide sewer pipe between the Clara Barton Parkway and the canal collapsed last month in Cabin John, Maryland, on Feb. 16, 2026.
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White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is concerned that stench from the Potomac River could disrupt America’s 250th anniversary celebrations after a sewer pipe collapse near Washington, D.C., spilled hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the river.
“The president is concerned about that, and that’s why the federal government wants to make a difference, and we hope local officials will work with us to do that,” Levitt said at a White House press conference, when asked if the president was concerned that Washington, D.C., would smell like waste during the 250th anniversary celebrations.
The administration is planning a number of events for the United States’ 250th anniversary, culminating in a Fourth of July Fourth of July celebration. Many of the events will be held in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, and are expected to attract many tourists.
Levitt said the White House is still waiting for local governments in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., to ask for help from the federal government to quell the chaos. President Trump has repeatedly blamed Democratic leaders in both states and Washington, D.C., for the spill and called for them to “respectfully” seek federal aid.
President Trump singled out Maryland Governor Wes Moore over the spill. The president also ignored Moore from a recent National Governors Association event at the White House. Mr. Levitt on Wednesday doubled down on the president’s condemnation of Mr. Moore.
“We have not seen any improvement under Governor Moore’s leadership,” Levitt said. “He has clearly shown that he is not capable of solving this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to intervene.”
Mr. Leavitt’s comments add to the thorny political battle between Mr. Moore and Mr. Trump that erupted this week over the spill. Moore, the nation’s only black governor and a frequent foil to Trump and often floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, argued that the busted pipe was within the jurisdiction of federal authorities.
President Donald Trump (left) and Maryland Governor Wes Moore
Getty Images | Reuters
“The sewer lines he’s talking about are on federal land,” Moore said Wednesday at a Maryland Public Utilities Commission meeting. “And for the past four weeks, the Trump-Vance administration has taken no action.”
“It’s foolish, dishonest, unreasonable and politically motivated to blame Maryland for this, when this is a DC pipe on federal land,” Moore said.
The collapsed pipe is owned and operated by DC Water, the independent utility company responsible for the repairs. It is part of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line and is located along the Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital. At least 200 million gallons of wastewater flowed into the Potomac River after the pipe broke.
Moore also on Wednesday responded to Trump’s request for him and local Democratic leaders to lend their support.
“If the president wants to ask me a polite question, here’s my response: Mr. President, please do your job,” Moore said.
Mr. Levitt said he would relay Mr. Moore’s response to Mr. Trump and that the administration was developing a plan to support recovery efforts.
“I’ll ask the president, and he’ll give me the next steps,” Levitt said at a news conference Wednesday. “But in all seriousness, the federal government has a plan in place.”
