WHITE HOUSE NEWS – Trump administration looking to ‘Make Federal Architecture Beautiful Again’ at the Capitol and White House

Ananya Roy, News Writer

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday requiring most new federal buildings to follow classical design standards, setting neoclassical architecture, like that of the White House and U.S. Capitol, as the “preferred and default” style. The order, titled “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” rejects brutalist and modernist designs, which the White House said have “fallen out of favor” with the public.

The administration is already moving to phase out existing brutalist structures. HUD is leaving its concrete headquarters in downtown D.C., with plans to sell the building, while the Energy Department’s headquarters has also been recommended for disposal. GSA, which manages federal real estate, will oversee implementation of the new order.

Trump previously pushed for similar design standards during his first term, before President Joe Biden rescinded the policy. On the campaign trail in 2023, Trump promised to “get rid of ugly buildings” and restore “the magnificent classical style of Western civilization.”