Melania Trump Hosts White House Historical Association as 90,000-Square-Foot Renovation Draws Fire
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 9
Melania Trump Hosts White House Historical Association as 90,000-Square-Foot Renovation Draws Fire
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 9
Summary
Wednesday’s White House reception for the White House Historical Association comes as the group faces criticism for staying silent on President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the mansion and grounds.
At issue are Trump’s changes including a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, the East Wing’s demolition and paving over Kennedy’s Rose Garden, moves preservationists and some former supporters call illegal and historically damaging.
Association leaders say their 65-year-old organization is nonpartisan and focused on research, education and preserving the White House collection, not resisting a sitting president’s construction plans.
That stance has strained the group internally and externally, with former staff, donors and historians arguing it was created by Jacqueline Kennedy to protect the White House as “the People’s House.”
The silence may also matter legally: after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that another preservation group likely lacked standing to challenge the ballroom, experts said the association itself could have had a stronger case.