FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is stepping in to fix the sewage leak rocking the Potomac River, with the White House vowing the president will not allow local lawmakers’ infrastructure “failures” to slide on his watch.
“President Trump will not allow the failures of local and state Democrats to diminish the quality of life for millions of Americans,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Tuesday.
“In line with the President’s promise to make Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful, President Trump is fixing the disaster exacerbated by Maryland Governor Wes Moore, whose gross mismanagement has allowed millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped into the Potomac River,” Rogers said. “Just like Governor Moore has failed to address the crime crisis in his state, he has also failed to make long-overdue repairs to Maryland’s water and wastewater infrastructure.”
Trump is on a tear, calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal government agencies to protect the Washington, D.C., water supply after a sewage pipe interceptor rupture in January that released an estimated 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac. The president has directed his ire toward Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on the issue, claiming alleged incompetence led to the disaster.
Trump reiterated Tuesday that Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., leaders are “responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River” and that if they can’t handle the clean-up and prevention, “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,” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday. “But remember, even in that case, with the Democrat Shutdown, we’ll have to bring in true Patriots to do the work because many are not working right now. These Democrat caused Disasters, both River and Shutdown, will only get worse.”
“The two Governors and the Mayor of D.C. must act, IMMEDIATELY. This is a Radical Left caused Environmental Hazard,” the president continued. “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. ACT FAST. I am awaiting your call. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The administration argued to Fox News Digital that Maryland has state regulatory enforcement authority over Potomac River waters, including rules requiring sewage operators to report, monitor and mitigate unauthorized discharges that threaten public health.
Officials faulted the state for an alleged slow response and lack of prompt coordination with federal entities despite the ruptured D.C. Water line running adjacent to — and over — federal lands. They also said Maryland failed to ensure infrastructure installed in the 1970s remained serviceable as demand changed over the past 50 years, and accused the state of offering little substantive public communication since last month even as other jurisdictions issued updated advisories.
The administration pointed Fox News Digital to a series of infrastructure grades the state of Maryland received from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which found the state had a C+ grade for its wastewater infrastructure, and the same grade for its stormwater infrastructure in 2025. The administration described the grades as “nearly failing.”
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All in, the state earned a C grade for its infrastructure, with its transit and energy infrastructure receiving the lowest grades, at D+ marks for both, while its ports and solid waste infrastructure receiving the highest marks at B scores, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 report.
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ASCE State report cards are released every four years. Maryland’s infrastructure grades from 2025 were largely unchanged from its marks in 2020, when the state also received an overall C grade.
Moore spokesperson Ammar Moussa blasted Trump over pinning blame for the leak on Maryland in a previous statement, saying on Monday that Trump got his “facts wrong — again.”
“Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak. For the last four weeks, the Trump Administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk,” Moussa said. “Notably, the president’s own EPA explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday.”
“Apparently the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here,” Moussa said.
Moore’s office argued the White House’s latest statement and claim that Maryland is to blame for the leak is “factually incorrect,” while underscoring the origin of the leak falls under federal review.
“Mr. President, this spill is basically contained,” Moore posted to X Tuesday. “So could you approve the @FEMA funding to help Western Maryland rebuild after the historic floods last year? @Sec_Noem, tagging you here too for good measure. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The sewage issue has attracted demands cutting across the political spectrum to clean up the issue and prevent it from happening again, including environmentalists focused on ending pollution in the Potomac.
“I want them to fix the problem, come up with a real, meaningful spill prevention plan or something like this could never happen again,” Dean Naujoks with Potomac Riverkeeper Network told DC News Now in February of the spill.
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Trump took a direct shot at Moore for the sewage leak Monday, calling it a “gross mismanagement of local Democrat leaders,” while directing federal officials to “immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac, the Water Supply in the Capital Region, and our treasured National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City.”
“This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a bridge. It is clear local authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity,” Trump said of Moore, referring to a dragged out timeline to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
