On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order establishing traditional and classical architecture as the preferred style for new federal buildings.
Today President Trump issued a momentous new Executive Order “Making Federal Architecture Great Again." The directive states that there must be a preference for classical and traditional architecture when the government is choosing designs for federal buildings. The Order is… pic.twitter.com/o6ifqnraNw
— Justin Shubow (@JustinShubow) August 28, 2025
Applicable Federal public buildings should uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, and command respect from the general public. They should also be visually identifiable as civic buildings and, as appropriate, respect regional architectural heritage.
The language of the bill matches exactly the language of a previous executive order, "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture," signed by Trump towards the end of his first term as President. Former President Joe Biden rescinded the order in 2021.
Architecture — particularly traditional and classical architecture — that meets the criteria set forth in this subsection is the preferred architecture for applicable Federal public buildings. In the District of Columbia, classical architecture shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another kind of architecture.
The order notes that "classical and traditional architecture are preferred modes of architectural design," but it "does not exclude the possibility of alternative styles in appropriate circumstances."
President Trump, a real estate mogul with a sharp eye for aesthetics, still kept cost, dependability, and practicality in mind with his order. “Designs shall adhere to sound construction practice and utilize materials, methods, and equipment of proven dependability. Buildings shall be economical to build, operate, and maintain, and should be accessible to the handicapped,” the order read.