The latest White House construction project comes at the request of the Secret Service

Topline

The Trump administration has reportedly launched a months-long project to strengthen the White House’s front door. The latest construction work is taking place at the White House as a tarp covers scaffolding in the North Portico.

On Thursday, construction workers hung a tarp near the North Portico of the White House. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Key facts

The White House front door security upgrade is being carried out at the direction of the Secret Service and is expected to last until mid-September, CNN reports.

A tarp went up on the North Portico of the White House late Thursday morning, covering scaffolding that had been standing for days.

A White House spokesman told CNN that the North Portico is undergoing “routine restoration work” to repair the stones in the columns. It is one of several simultaneous construction projects taking place at the White House and throughout Washington.

Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told podcast host Katie Miller that the columns of the North Portico were being repaired, saying construction should be completed “very quickly.”

“President Trump comes out to greet the world leader and sees the doorbells in the columns and says, ‘Look at all this stuff that needs fixing,'” Burgum told Miller.

Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that construction workers had “stripped the paint off the columns that was about 150 years old and repainted them,” saying they were “in very bad shape” and “many presidents have treated them very poorly.”

A tarp covers the scaffolding near the North Portico. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Seneta)

Workers cover scaffolding with a tarp on the north portico of the White House, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demari Nihinson)

what to pay attention to

The Trump administration plans to build new fencing around the White House and nearby Lafayette Park, the Washington Post reported Friday morning, so pedestrian access around the White House could be restricted if the Secret Service determines there is a security threat. The project must first be reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, the Post reported.

Where else is the White House being built?

Last week, construction crews began work on a previously unannounced helipad on the South Lawn of the White House. Contractor records obtained by The Washington Post earlier this week show the White House sped up construction on the $13 million project and added $875,000 to the bill in anticipation of an “upcoming state visit.” The visiting world leader has not been named, but the Post reports that it is likely to refer to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is expected to visit the country in September. Trump has also moved forward with a controversial White House ballroom project, starting with the demolition of the East Wing earlier this year. The project will reportedly cost $600 million, more than half of which will come from taxpayer money, the Washington Post reports.

tangent

Across the District of Columbia, tarps also stand outside the Kennedy Center, blocking the site’s sign, which now lacks Trump’s name following a court order to remove it, from public view. The tarp sat for nearly a month and angered some Democrats, and last month a federal judge ordered the center to explain the purpose of the tarp by the end of July. The Kennedy Center renovation has become one of Trump’s most controversial Washington projects since he removed most of its board of trustees last year and replaced it with allies who named him chairman. His efforts to add his name to the center and close it for years of renovations were blocked by a judge in May, and the Kennedy Center is now challenging the court’s ruling in a federal appeals court.

large number

$1.2 billion. The New York Times estimates that’s how much the 18 major construction projects Trump has launched in Washington, D.C., could cost. It’s unclear how much of that is being funded by taxpayers, but the Times reported that a White House official suggested taxpayer money would be used for the majority of these projects.

key background

During his second term, Trump attempted to renovate major Washington, D.C., landmarks, including a failed restoration of the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, which again filled with algae and led to criminal charges against several people for alleged vandalism. Elsewhere in Washington, Trump also renovated the White House Rose Garden and several rooms in the building, and began a $17 million renovation of Lafayette Park. Trump has also proposed building a 250-foot arch in Washington, but the potential project faces a challenge from Democratic lawmakers who say Trump needs congressional approval.