“When President Harry S. Truman undertook a large-scale renovation of the White House in the 1940s, the place was in such a state of disrepair that the leg of his daughter’s piano fell through the floor.
As he embarked on a major overhaul, Mr. Truman involved stakeholders far and wide.
Working with the House and Senate, Mr. Truman appointed a bipartisan, six-person commission to oversee the project. He consulted the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Commission of Fine Arts, which approved sketches made by Lorenzo S. Winslow, the White House architect, as well as smaller details like fabric samples and color schemes.
Funds for the project — more than $5 million at the time — were approved by Congress after significant debate.
… Mr. Trump’s ballroom plans also differ drastically from Mr. Truman’s renovation.
“The reason that these renovations went forward is because they were absolutely necessary for the place to be livable,” Marc Selverstone, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, said of Mr. Truman’s renovations. “And that seems to be quite a different rationale than the one that is being provided now.”…”