Story thread · 10 reports / 10 sources

Judge says paint tests on Eisenhower Building can proceed, advancing Trump's plans

nbcwashington.com · 4h · first reportShare

A federal district judge said Tuesday that paint tests on a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House can go ahead, advancing President Donald Trump’s plans to add a new coat of white paint to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, for now. Trump has suggested the massive building be painted as part of his push to remake and beautify the nation’s capital. Planners said the paint job would cost at least $7.5 million. The proposal to paint the building has alarmed preservationists, architects, historians and others who argue that granite is not meant to be painted and that paint would trap moisture and degrade the stone. U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich said plaintiffs in an ongoing case had not shown that minimal tests planned for the historic building would cause irreparable harm if those tests go ahead. The plaintiffs, which include cultural preservationist groups, had sought a restraining order and a temporary injunction to stop the Trump administratio