Trump’s latest project: Workers drape off iconic White House columns as part of revamp efforts
The newest construction project at the White House has begun at President Donald Trump’s request. Over the past few days, construction crews installed scaffolding along the White House North Portico and covered the entire area in a drape that depicts how the president wants the area to look.
Crews are reportedly rehabilitating the exterior columns as part of the president’s latest beautification effort across Washington, D.C.
While scaffolding and the drape were only put up in the past few days, the process of rehabilitating the columns has been going on for more than a month.
Stripping paint, removing a lantern
CNN reports the president spent about six minutes looking at the columns while his motorcade returned from Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
A little over a week later, on June 9, crews began stripping paint from the columns. Then, on June 29, a worker could be seen on a lift removing a lantern centered under the White House overhang and placing its pieces into a box.
It wasn’t until this week, however, that the project became obvious, even to the public. On Thursday, workers placed the drape, which features a picture of the columns.
What officials are saying
The White House is calling the project “standard restoration work” and “stone repair to the columns.” On Monday, Trump addressed the work while speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden.
“We’ve taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns, and re-did them,” Trump said. He went on to question whether former President Joe Biden noticed problems with the columns and added, “I don’t like the shape of the columns — he [Biden] didn’t notice things like that.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum acknowledged the president’s “attention to detail,” crediting him with getting the project started.
“He sees door dings in the pillars and says, ‘Look at all this stuff. It needs to be repaired,’” Burgum said during an appearance on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
He added that the project will go “very quickly.”
Other ongoing projects
The columns are just one of the president’s ongoing projects at the White House and across Washington, D.C.
Work on the White House ballroom is ongoing following the demolition of the East Wing earlier this year. Plus, the president revealed new signage above the West Wing in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
Plus, on Thursday, President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Washington returned to a federal planning commission after staff recommended preliminary approvals for the site and building plans, but said the design needed revisions before final approvals.
The commission gave its initial approval Thursday, but its members put off a decision on whether a federal law limiting building heights should apply.
The law, the Height of Buildings Act of 1910, restricts building heights in Washington, D.C. to about 130 feet, ensuring the capital’s signature horizontal skyline.
Of the 12 commissioners, eight voted for preliminary approval. One was against, and the remaining three simply voted present.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
