Experts warn Trump's plan to paint federal building could cause permanent damage

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Experts warn Trump's plan to paint federal building could cause permanent damage President Trump wants to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white, but experts and preservationists are pushing back, warning it could permanently damage the historic granite. National Experts warn Trump's plan to paint federal building could cause permanent damage May 8, 20264:44 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Neda Ulaby Experts warn Trump's plan to paint federal building could cause permanent damage Listen &middot; 2:39 2:39 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5815253/nx-s1-9762031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript President Trump wants to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white, but experts and preservationists are pushing back, warning it could permanently damage the historic granite. Sponsor Message A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: Next, we turn to how President Trump is remaking the architecture and aesthetics to the nation's capital.

+ (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: What I do best in life is build. I build buildings really well and really - and under budget and ahead of schedule. That's what I do. MARTÍNEZ: Trump is building a, quote, "National Garden of American Heroes" along the Potomac. Plans call for hundreds of statues of Americans from George Washington to Kobe Bryant. He's closing the Kennedy Center - now the Trump Kennedy Center - for a two-year long renovation. He proposed a massive arch to be built between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. He turned the heart of the White House Rose Garden into a patio covered in stone. He tore down the White House's East Wing and commissioned a 90,000-square-foot ballroom to replace it. LEILA FADEL, HOST: Long list, but there's more. Trump is also resurfacing the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. The gray stone at the bottom is being covered in a color Trump calls American-flag blue. That's not the only gray Trump wants to cover up in Washington. He wants to coat a federal building right next to the White House in white paint. NPR's Neda Ulaby attended a meeting where officials heard public opposition to the painting plan. NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: Everyone was very nice to each other at this meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission. No decision sat on the table, just an airing of the proposal - painting over the violet gray granite of the grand Victorian structure now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. RYAN ERB: Our main goal is preserving the building. We all love the EEOB. I know, myself, I work in the building, and I see how beautiful it is every day. ULABY: Ryan Erb works for the Trump administration. He was tasked with selling the proposal to an assortment of architects, professors, historic preservationists and people who identify themselves as ordinary tax-paying citizens. All of them were deeply opposed. GREG WERKHEISER: We surveyed 25 of the nation's leading architects, conservators and experts in masonry and paint regarding this exact proposal. ULABY: Greg Werkheiser is a lawyer. He spoke on behalf of groups now suing the Trump administration over its handling of the Kennedy Center and the proposal for the EEOB. WERKHEISER: Painting is a terrible idea, and no one with influence has yet had the courage to tell the president no. ULABY: Nine experts explain that the president's proposed mineral silicate paint is not intended for use on granite. It would permanently damage the stone's surface, they said, trapping moisture there and in mortar joints. It would be irreversible and require constant costly maintenance. The president has said the building looks dingy. Historic preservationists at the meeting suggested that problem could be solved instead through nice landscaping and good lighting. Neda Ulaby, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1168:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(492),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(238),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1168,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();