A retired General Services Administration official, Mydelle Wright, has accused the Trump administration of attempting to demolish four historic federal buildings in Washington, D.C., including the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building. The allegation was made in a supplemental declaration filed in a lawsuit brought by preservation groups. Wright claims the White House is soliciting demolition bids without GSA involvement, which she says has sole authority over such processes. The Cohen building houses significant New Deal-era murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, and Seymour Fogel, and has been described as "the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal." The Trump administration has halted a planned green renovation and listed the building for accelerated disposition, raising fears of demolition and loss of the artworks.
This matters because the potential demolition threatens irreplaceable public artworks that are central to American cultural heritage and New Deal history. The murals, particularly Shahn's fresco-secco panels, are extremely fragile and costly to remove safely. The case also highlights a broader conflict between presidential authority and federal preservation obligations, with implications for the protection of historic government properties nationwide. If the building is demolished, it would set a precedent for disregarding cultural landmarks in favor of cost-cutting measures.