White House Office Seeks Public Comment on Plan to Paint Eisenhower Executive Office Building White

The Proposed Action

The Office of Administration (OA), within the Executive Office of the President, has published a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) examining proposed exterior improvements to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), located to the west of the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The notice, consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), opens a 30-day public comment period closing November 16, 2026.

The project is proposed to rehabilitate and improve the granite façade of the EEOB to restore and beautify its physical appearance, consistent with Executive Order 14344, "Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again." The document states that several areas of the EEOB's façade are currently deteriorating, with conditions including granular disintegration, delamination, incipient spalling, cracking, and chipping, as well as gypsum salt accumulation, efflorescence, stains from exposure to contaminants, and biological growth, and that this deterioration has worsened over time. The document further states that the gray façade of the EEOB, combined with its size and massing, conveys a dark, drab, and uninspiring presence that detracts from the aesthetic presentation of the much smaller White House directly adjacent to it.

Section 590 of Public Law 100-461 authorizes the OA Director to accept gifts, property, and voluntary services to support renovation and rehabilitation of the EEOB, and establishes a United States Treasury Fund for those purposes. The notice explains that OA is not a Federal agency and is therefore not required to comply with either NEPA or the NHPA, and that, given the EEOB's location on White House grounds, it is exempt from the requirements of the NHPA under Section 107. Nonetheless, according to the notice, OA is voluntarily following NEPA and NHPA procedures because those procedures provide a generally well-understood framework for considering potential effects and receiving input from agencies, the public, and interested parties.

Alternatives Under Consideration

The EA evaluates three action alternatives and a No Action Alternative. Under the Exterior Painting Alternative — designated the "Preferred Alternative" — the EEOB's whole granite façade, excluding interior courtyards, would be painted with a white, mineral silicate paint. Prior to painting, the granite façade would be prepared through a conservation-based cleaning regimen and stone repair and preservation measures implemented in accordance with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and façade lighting would be installed.

The Partial Painting Alternative involves painting only the exterior granite walls of the upper floors of all four elevations, leaving the raised foundation — described as currently a different type, texture, and shade of granite — unpainted. As with the Preferred Alternative, the paint would be a shade of white, mineral silicate paint, courtyard elevations would remain unpainted, exterior walls would undergo cleaning and stone repair prior to painting, and façade lighting would be installed.

The Cleaning and Lighting Alternative involves only cleaning the exterior granite using a gentle, conservation-based cleaning method to remove dirt and soiling on all four exterior elevations, remove unattractive stains, and improve the overall appearance of the exterior façade — without any painting. Under the No Action Alternative, cleaning and painting of the EEOB façade would not occur, weathering and deterioration of the building façade would continue, and the aesthetics of the building would remain unaligned with that of the White House.

Public Input and Consulting Parties

The notice states that Federal agencies; state, tribal, and local governments; and the general public will have the opportunity to assist OA in identifying historic properties that could be affected by the project, potential adverse effects, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigation measures to be analyzed. OA will use the NEPA coordination process provided for in the NHPA regulations at 36 CFR 800.8. The notice also invites individuals and organizations to request status as consulting parties, and OA requests that comments concerning the scope of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of relevant information and studies be submitted prior to the close of the comment period.

What to Watch

The public comment period closes November 16, 2026. OA has requested that all comments be received prior to that date to afford the agency the opportunity to consider them. OA is also accepting comments on all four alternatives, as well as suggestions for additional alternatives not yet identified in the draft EA.

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