U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the U.S. Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit, in Washington, D.C., U.S. January 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
As officials from Washington, D.C. scramble to contain the ongoing wastewater spill into the Potomac River – the largest in U.S. history – President Donald Trump took to social media Tuesday to offer federal assistance — but only if he's asked "politely."
“Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, must get to work, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “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.”
The wastewater spill occurred last month after a sewer line collapsed, resulting in around 243 million gallons of wastewater flowing into the Potomac River, DC Water said in a statement earlier this month. While the wastewater spill is ongoing, overflows were “significantly reduced” within the first five days of the spillage.
While D.C. officials continue to work to contain the wastewater spill, Trump warned that unless the matter was addressed “immediately,” it would “only get worse,” and blamed the “radical left” for causing what he described as an “environmental hazard.”
“With all of their talk about carbon footprints and everything else, they’re allowing hundreds of tons of sewage to pour into the Mighty Potomac, making it much less mighty,” Trump wrote. “ACT FAST. I am awaiting your call.”
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