In a year, the president has altered 10 spaces in the White House.
For generations, each American president has left his stamp on the White House. But in just a year of his second term, President Trump has overseen a collection of changes that is unprecedented in scale, speed and cost.
Some changes are cosmetic, while others are structural. As with his executive style, he has broken long-held norms in his makeover of the “People’s House.” Critics have questioned Mr. Trump’s demolition of the East Wing before gaining approvals, and the administration is under legal pressure over plans to build a ballroom in its place.
It is difficult to know the full price tag of the renovations, but they come at a time when cost of living and inflation are top of mind for many Americans. Mr. Trump has said that he is personally paying for some projects, and that he and his donors would foot the bill for the $400 million ballroom.
Here are the 10 areas he transformed.
Mr. Trump is not done yet.
In an interview with The Times this month, he said that designs were being drawn up for a second level on top of the West Colonnade. Called the “Upper West Wing,” it would hold offices for West Wing aides and “future first ladies.”
Photo credits
Cover: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Cabinet Room: Drew Angerer/The New York Times and Doug Mills/The New York Times
Oval Office: Dirck Halstead/Getty Images, Eric Draper/The White House, via National Archives, Doug Mills/The New York Times and Bruce White, via White House Historical Association
Oval Office study: David Valdez/The White House, via National Archives, Pete Souza/The White House and Doug Mills/The New York Times
West Colonnade: Doug Mills/The New York Times and Elizabeth Frantz for The New York Times
Rose Garden: Doug Mills/The New York Times and Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Palm Room: Jack E. Boucher/Historic American Buildings Survey, via Library of Congress and Doug Mills/The New York Times
Flagpoles: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Lincoln Bathroom: Andrea Hanks/The White House and Doug Mills/The New York Times
Entrance Hall: Doug Mills/The New York Times and Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
East Wing Ballroom: Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress, Kevin Carter/Getty Images, Doug Mills/The New York Times, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and Bettmann Archive, via Getty Images
