The Trumps may have some unwanted residents with them in the White House. According to a new report, several parts of the historic building are plagued with roaches, mice, and ants.
An investigation by NBC 4 Washington found the Trump administration has made hundreds of pest control requests with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which helps manage maintenance in the White House.
Some of the issues reported to the GSA's Public Buildings Service include mice in the situation room and the mess food service area at the White House Navy, a colony of ants who have taken up residence in the office of President Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly, and cockroach infestations in at least four areas of the aging building.
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Other redecoration and maintenance requests made by the Trump administration are much more mundane. Some of them included installing a new toilet seat for the Oval Office bathroom, redecorating the office of national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and adding new draperies to create the "overall effect of the room being taller" in the second-floor East Wing office of first lady Melania Trump.
According to NBC, the number of maintenance requests is consistent with those made by previous administrations. After all, maintaining the White House, which started being built in 1792, is a massive undertaking.
"It’s an enormous job. GSA is assigned to manage that job," former GSA Inspector General Brian Miller told NBC. "GSA hires contractors and subcontractors for the [maintenance] work. Then the agency must watch over the contractors."
He added, "They are old buildings. Any of us who have old houses know old houses need a lot of work."
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