Repair work continues on the broken section of the Potomac Interceptor, a six-foot-wide sewage pipe that collapsed in late January, in between the Clara Barton Parkway and the C&O Canal, Feb. 16, 2026 in Cabin John, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A sewage pipe interceptor ruptured in January, releasing upward of 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. The president has directed his ire toward Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and other local leaders in Virginia and Washington, D.C., on the issue, claiming alleged incompetence led to the disaster.
Leavitt called on leaders in the two states and D.C. to "step forward and to ask the federal government for help and to ask for the Stafford Act to be implemented here so that the federal government can go and take control of this local infrastructure that has been abandoned and neglected by Governor Moore in Maryland for far too long."
"It's no secret that Maryland's water and infrastructure are 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've received, five years earlier. There has been no improvement under the leadership of Governor Moore. He's clearly shown he's incapable of fixing this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in."
Reporters raise their hands to ask a question as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
DC Water is currently leading clean-up efforts, while the state of Maryland was providing "regulatory oversight related to water quality standard exceedances in the Potomac related to unauthorized discharges of wastewater," according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin Tuesday.
He added that local leaders had not yet called on the EPA for assistance.
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"This mess must be completely addressed as fast as humanly possible, and the Trump EPA stands ready, motivated, and highly capable to assist in any way possible to fulfill President Trump’s strong desire to END this disaster," Zeldin posted to X.
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