Donald Trump’s plot to repaint a historic 19th-century building white would cost at least $7.5 million, it has been revealed.
Ryan Erb, the construction operations and facilities manager in the White House Office of Administration, gave a rough estimate of how much it would cost to repaint the exterior of the gray Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) in Washington, D.C., during a meeting with the federal National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) on Thursday.
“We are planning to have about a 25-year life span for the paint,” Erb said, via The New York Times. “We are working with a third-party vendor to do all the appropriate testing.”
Trump’s plan to give the EEOB a fresh coat of paint is part of his broader effort to reshape Washington, D.C., in his tacky image, including constructing his gaudy White House ballroom and installing the so-called “Arc de Trump” across from the Lincoln Memorial.
Just like Trump’s other vanity projects, the 79-year-old’s plan to repaint the historic building has been met with major pushback.
Preservationists fear that painting the building’s granite exterior could cause irreparable damage.
“The thought of painting the beautiful granite facade of the EEOB is an absolute disgrace, and an absolute insult to all those who admire and work hard to preserve historic architecture,” Margo Steinberg, chair of the Marion Historical Commission in Marion, Massachusetts, wrote in a formal complaint to the NCPC.
“Fifty years in the field of preservation, and I have never heard of such a stupid idea as this.”
Martin Moeller, former senior curator for the National Building Museum in Washington, added: “If this proposal is approved, mark my words: the painting will be reversed one day, most likely at great public expense.”
The NCPC did not approve the plans on Thursday, but unanimously voted to direct the White House to provide more details on how it plans to paint the granite building, the risks involved, and the long-term maintenance costs.
Trump first outlined his hopes to repaint the EEOB from gray to white during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in November 2025.
“It was always considered an ugly building, when actually it is one of the most beautiful buildings ever built,” Trump said while showing off mock-up images of how it could look.
When Ingraham asked whether he was concerned the paint job would make the building look like a “white blob,” Trump replied: “No, it really brings out the detail.”
