Trump’s White House North Portico project nears completion with shroud and scaffolding removed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Restoration work on the White House North Portico is nearing completion before Chinese President Xi Jinping ’s state visit to the United States in late September.

Scaffolding was taken down Tuesday and followed the weekend removal of shrouds that had obscured the work. The Executive Mansion’s front columns had been covered since July. The work, ordered by President Donald Trump, began in June.

The portico was first completed in 1830 during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Administration officials said previously that stonework and plaster on the structure were being refurbished due to damage caused by age and weather exposure. The work also included security enhancements and upgrades to the doors on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building, the White House said.

The project is expected to be completed sometime next week, according to the White House.

Trump has said he noticed the “deplorable condition” himself before insisting on repairs. The work is part of the president’s sweeping overhaul of the White House and other federal property in the nation’s capital — with most of his more ambitious moves drawing lawsuits and criticism from historic preservationists.

The Republican president said last week that workers finished construction of a helipad on the South Lawn.

His signature project, a White House ballroom and underground bunker, continues as legal fights play out. Multiple lawsuits were filed after Trump demolished the East Wing before going through the usual regulatory steps for major work on historic federal buildings in Washington. The massive project will add more square footage than what the existing White House footprint comprises.

That means Trump must host Xi’s state dinner, scheduled for Sept. 24, in existing spaces and in a construction zone — a circumstance that will afford the president a new opportunity to extol his ballroom project.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.