On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, President Donald J. Trump revealed his plans to “beautify” the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) by painting its every exterior surface white. The proposal would permanently alter one of the most architecturally significant and historic structures in the Nation’s Capital.

With a dramatic exterior crafted in polished granite, slate, and ornate cast-iron trim, the EEOB is a National Historic Landmark and a defining element of the surrounds of the White House. The building houses approximately 1,500 employees who work for the Executive Offices of the President and Vice President.

Forty-eight hours after the President’s announcement, Cultural Heritage Partners and the DC Preservation League filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking emergency relief to ensure that the project complies with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other federal laws designed to protect nationally significant historic resources.

The case now presents questions that reach well beyond the future appearance of a single historic building.

Among the issues before the Court are:

• Can the White House avoid federal preservation and environmental laws simply by transferring a project from one federal agency to another?
• May the Executive Office of the President undertake major alterations to National Historic Landmarks without complying with the consultation, transparency, and public participation requirements that apply to other federal agencies?
• Does the Office of Administration have authority to conduct a project that Congress assigned to GSA while remaining insulated from judicial review?
• Can the government begin implementing a project before the Court determines whether the transfer of authority is lawful?