President Donald Trump May Make Yet Another Change to The White House to Make it Look More Opulent

The White House may be getting yet another visual overhaul under President Donald Trump.

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the Trump appointee who chairs the Commission of Fine Arts — a federal panel tasked with advising the president on matters of design — said in an interview last week that the Ionic columns in front of The White House may be replaced soon in favor of more ornate Corinthian-style columns that Trump reportedly prefers, per the Washington Post.

“Corinthian is the highest order [of column], and that’s what our other two branches of government have,” Cook told the outlet. “Why the White House didn’t originally use them, at least on the north front, which is considered the front door, is beyond me.”

However, Steven Semes, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Notre Dame and an expert in classical architecture, explained to the Washington Post that the original design of the columns was done in a less opulent way than the buildings for the other branches of government to reflect the White House as the “People’s House.”

It was considered a way to make the Executive Branch of government feel approachable and reachable to the common person. Semes called the idea of Corinthian columns “inappropriate.”

The White House spokesperson told the outlet there are currently no plans to change any of the existing columns on the mansion’s grounds.

Still, this wouldn’t be the first time that the Trump administration said the exterior of the iconic building would be preserved, only to go back on that declaration.

In July, Trump, 79, said his 90,000-square-foot ballroom would not interfere with the current building. However, by October, the entire East Wing had been demolished to make room for the ballroom. The multi-million-dollar construction project, funded by private donations, is expected to be completed in 2029.