The presidential transition in the United States implies that each president can make changes and adjustments to certain areas of the executive residence. However, there are limitations to implementing certain changes to preserve the building's history.
He president-elect of the United States, Donald Trumpwill move back to the White House on January 20, 2025 and part of the transition process includes deciding on certain renovations to be made to accommodate him and his family as the new tenants of the headquarters of the American executive branch.
This has happened for centuries, so each leader and first lady They can make changes to the interior of the White House to give it their personal touch. This includes, for example, a new decoration and organization of the rooms.
The incoming family chooses from the photographs that will hang in the hallways for the next four years, as well as works of art and even the busts that stand in the different corners of the building.
But these changes, which usually respond to the aesthetic tastes and other formal priorities of the incoming president and his family, have limits. The White House Historical Association details that furniture such as the historic “Resolute Desk,” one of the most iconic desks in the Oval Office, as well as tableware and works of art, belong to the government and should be left in the executive mansion.
The White House, according to the Historical Association, has a “vast collection” of furniture, paintings and other artifacts that incoming presidents can choose from, or they can borrow items from museums.
In 2017, at the beginning of his first term, Trump made changes to the décor of the Oval Office. He hung a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson and replaced the red curtains that Barack Obama put up with gold ones that date back to Bill Clinton's mandate. The carpet was also changed to a gold one.
Joe Biden, in turn, made significant changes to the presidential office. In addition to removing the portrait of Andrew Jackson, which he replaced with one of Benjamin Franklin, he replaced the dark blue carpet with a presidential seal in the middle.
Trump had also put up a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was replaced by Biden, who decided to place the effigies of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, among other American personalities.
Historic renovations at the White House
Changes are not strange in the White House. The presidential mansion has undergone many renovations since construction began in 1792. The largest renovation in modern times was completed in 1952, when then-President Harry Truman commissioned a reconstruction of the presidential mansion's interior.
Truman reported in his first term that he heard “ghosts” on the second floor of the residence, that the structure was cracking and the hallways were sinking. Studies by engineers found that the White House was unsafe and in “danger of collapse,” requiring major construction work.
Other renovations have been necessary to modernize the structure. Among them adding plumbing and electricity, as well as installing air conditioners and modernizing their technology.
In different corners of the White House, stories about each president are told. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned a classical-style remodeling that introduced the building's west wing.
Some first ladies have also added a touch of art. Michelle Obama obtained the painting Resurrection by Alma Thomas, the first work by an African-American woman in the collection, and Melania Trump acquired the sculpture Floor Frame by Isamu Noguchi for the White House rose garden.
Other changes have been seen abroad. Claudia Johnson redesigned the East Lawn and created the Children's Garden, and Michelle Obama created the White House vegetable garden on the South Lawn.
Sometimes, to facilitate the process, the sitting first lady invites the president-elect's wife to tour the private rooms and review the plans, as well as the permanent art collection. However, in the current case, the White House will be a familiar place for the Trumps, who will be able to return to the decorations that best represent them.