Trump plan to paint Eisenhower building could cost at least $7.5M

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President Donald Trump’s proposal to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s exterior white could cost taxpayers at least $7.5 million, a White House official said as the federal review process began. Ryan Erb, the construction operations and facilities manager in the White House Office of Administration, said the White House was seeking authorization for the paint project through the National Capital Planning Commission, the body that was reviewing details during a Thursday meeting.

Erb described the review timeline as one the White House could not accelerate, telling commissioners that the administration was working to collect data before moving forward. In the meeting, he discussed how the Office of Administration was spearheading the proposal and said it continued to work with an outside vendor to test the silicate paint being considered.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said after the meeting that President Trump “continues to beautify the White House and our Nation’s Capital and is giving it the glory it deserves — something everyone should celebrate,” in an emailed statement. Erb said the White House would use money already designated for maintenance and upkeep projects, and offered the $7.5 million figure as a preliminary estimate limited to the exterior paint job.

The National Capital Planning Commission, chaired by top Trump White House aide Will Scharf, did not approve the painting plan on Thursday. Instead, it directed the White House to provide additional information later, including details about the specific type of paint to be used and alternatives that could improve the building’s appearance without painting it.

Under the White House’s proposal, officials have presented two options: painting the entire gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower building white or painting most of the structure white while leaving the granite base as it is. Officials have said the preferred approach is repainting the entire exterior.

Erb said the White House is testing the paint on granite samples from a quarry in Maine because no testing can be done on the Eisenhower building itself. He said the samples reflect new stone rather than aged granite like the material on the building, which opened in 1888 after 17 years of construction, and he said the initial data was encouraging.

Preservationists, architects, historians and others expressed alarm during the commission meeting, arguing that granite is not meant to be painted and that paint would trap moisture and deteriorate the stone. Priya Jain of the Society of Architectural Historians said the plan should be rejected, saying painting the granite facade “will adversely and permanently alter this important landmark.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation also opposed the proposal, saying the “subtle and rich colors” of the Eisenhower building’s granite exterior are “central to its historic significance” and that the plan would fail to protect character-defining features. The nonprofit has sued over the White House ballroom project, and the commission meeting drew strong opposition from the public as well.

More than 2,000 public comments submitted to the commission were also opposed to painting, according to the report, with commenters citing what they described as waste of taxpayer dollars and arguing a white Eisenhower building would change the visual balance along Pennsylvania Avenue. Others urged landscaping, lighting and other measures as alternatives to repainting.

A separate federal agency, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is also reviewing the proposal and recently asked the White House to provide additional information, including about paint testing, before the commission votes on whether to approve it. The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which sits across a driveway from the White House, is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a lawsuit against the proposed paint job is pending in federal court.