By Arden Farhi
Updated on: April 11, 2026 / 12:10 AM EDT / CBS News
President Trump has submitted plans to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white to the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel that advises on public architecture and design in Washington, D.C.
The French Second Empire–style, slate-gray building, completed in 1888, sits across a driveway from the West Wing and houses office space for members of the president’s team, including the National Security Council. The design proposal says the building is an eyesore that has long been criticized and has fallen into disrepair since its completion.
The submission argues that “the color, design, and massing of the existing structure does not align visually with the surrounding architecture and lacks any symbolic cohesion with the White House.” It points to examples of cracks and poor exterior maintenance and says painting the stone would be repeatable and address a persistent inability to return the facade to a baseline color.
The plans include renderings showing the Executive Office Building, and the White House West Wing, if the gray stone facade were painted white.
The Executive Office of the President will present the proposal to the Commission of Fine Arts, which will hear the plan on April 16.