Preservationists sue Trump over plans to paint Eisenhower building

The complaint alleges Trump’s plan would ‘permanently alter one of the most architecturally significant and historic structures in the Nation’s Capital'

November 14, 2025 at 9:44 p.m. EST 9 minutes ago
5 min


The Eisenhower Executive Office Building as seen Friday from the newly reopened Washington Monument. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Edwards

Preservationists concerned by President Donald Trump’s public musings this week about painting a 137-year-old building next to the White House completely white sued him Friday to halt the work, arguing that he could not unilaterally alter “one of the most architecturally significant and historic structures in the Nation’s Capital.”

Trump had taken aim at the stately Eisenhower Executive Office Building in a television interview that aired Wednesday on FOX, saying “it was always considered an ugly building.” He was particularly irked by its color, which he said was too dour for the White House’s next-door neighbor. ... “Gray is for funerals,” he told his interviewer, Laura Ingraham. ... Trump vowed to make it “beautiful,” showing Ingraham a mock-up that turned the normally slate gray exterior into a palatial white. ... “Look at it, how beautiful that is with a coat of paint,” he said.

The DC Preservation League and Cultural Heritage Partners, a law firm focused on historic preservation, took Trump seriously and scrambled to slow down any plans, given his recent demolition of the East Wing of the White House. On Friday, the groups asked a federal court to issue an emergency injunction prohibiting Trump and other federal officials from altering the building unless they complete legally required reviews. In a 35-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the plaintiffs accused Trump of trying to end-run legally-mandated public input into changes to historic buildings — echoing a complaint lodged by critics of his East Wing teardown.

{snip}


The Eisenhower building on Aug. 17. (Michael A. McCoy/For The Washington Post)

{snip}

"This landmark has survived 137 years without being covered in white paint,” [Greg Werkheiser, founding partner of the Cultural Heritage Partners law firm,] said in a statement. “It won’t hurt the President to take a minute to follow the law.”

{snip}

By Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards is a national reporter covering the White House. Before joining The Post, he covered public safety for The Virginian-Pilot and Lincoln Journal Star.follow on Xjonathanreports