![]() ![]() The room had to be completely emptied to complete the project. He also swapped out Obama-era wallpaper - installed in August 2010 - with a pattern he selected himself that included scrolls and floral medallions. He was not wrong on that point – during his first summer as president, White House maintenance staff used his August absence to complete a $3.5 million overhaul of the West Wing, including replacing an air conditioning system that sometimes broke down. When President Donald Trump decamped for his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he insisted it was not, in fact, a vacation, but a required getaway while the West Wing was renovated. Bush preferred brush-clearing and mountain biking on his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama enjoyed rural refinement on Martha’s Vineyard, while President George W. He was joining a long list of presidents who have left behind Washington’s steamy Augusts for more relaxed venues. “Go get your bathing suits,” he called out as he rolled past. Biden is spending this week between his homes in Delaware, and spent last week on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where reporters caught sight of him riding his bike down the sand. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Imagesĭoing that work while the President is out of town is usually preferable for the teams of painters, carpenters, electricians and landscapers who descend on the building in August to make the repairs. The building is maintained to a museum-level standard, but upkeep is required nearly constantly, and systems sometimes break down.Ī maintenance worker power washes the West Wing of the White House on August 7, 2022, in Washington, DC. Biden has been open about finding life in the White House restrictive and has spent more than a quarter of his presidency in Delaware, where he maintains two homes. He has made some changes since taking office, however, including setting up a small television set directly behind the Resolute Desk.Īll presidents find living and working in the 222-year-old White House comes with challenges. President Joe Biden isn’t planning any major updates to the Oval Office, as his two recent predecessors did during their first August getaways. This year, long-sought upgrades to the basement Situation Room, repaving the driveway, cleaning the windows, replacing stone pavers and sprucing up the South Lawn are among the projects. Summertime renovations timed around a president’s vacation are a regular occurrence in the executive mansion. It’s a summer White House tradition: As soon as the president is wheels up for the beach or countryside, construction equipment begins rolling toward the building.
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