Trump ordered repairs in June after noticing ‘deplorable condition’
The restoration of the White House North Portico appears to be nearing completion in time for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States in late September. Workers removed a shroud from the Executive Mansion’s front facade over Labor Day weekend, and scaffolding began coming down Tuesday. The portico’s front columns had been covered since July.
President Donald Trump ordered the repairs in June after saying he noticed what he called the “deplorable condition” of the structure himself before insisting on the work. Administration officials said previously that the project refurbished stonework and plaster on the portico, attributing the work to routine damage from age and weather exposure.
The North Portico was first completed in 1830 during Andrew Jackson’s presidency.
The portico repairs are part of Trump’s broader overhaul of the White House and other federal property in the nation’s capital — a campaign in which most of his more ambitious moves have drawn lawsuits and criticism from historic preservationists.