Overview

• Construction crews from the National Park Service have removed the lawn and begun paving the Rose Garden, with gravel already laid over former turf.
• The project, funded by the Trust for the National Mall, began in early June and is expected to finish by August.
• Trump justified the overhaul by citing soggy grass that caused high heels to sink during press briefings and ceremonies.
• Originally established in 1913 and redesigned during the Kennedy administration, the Rose Garden saw a 2019 update by Melania Trump that drew petitions calling for its reversal.
• This overhaul joins other recent Trump-led projects at the White House, such as installing two 100-foot flagpoles on the front lawn and adding gold medallions and gilded mirrors to the Oval Office.