White House Moves Eisenhower Building Paint Job Out of GSA, Bypassing Preservation Review

The administration is arguing in litigation that the General Services Administration has ceded control of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to the White House Office of Administration, according to The Washington Post on July 24, 2026. Deputy assistant to the president Heather Martin filed a declaration saying that office was preparing to paint the building's grey granite exterior white. GSA is bound by the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, which require expert and public review; the White House office is not.

Moving a project from an agency subject to statutory review into a White House office that is exempt would, if accepted, offer a route around environmental and preservation process for any undertaking the president takes a personal interest in. Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners, a plaintiff, called the potential precedent "devastating."

More than two dozen experts have sued, arguing paint would trap moisture and damage the stone. A White House official said necessary reviews are conducted. The November 2025 suit is pending.