It certainly looks grand on the outside, but the White House appears to be plagued with cockroaches, mice and ants.
According to building maintenance files obtained by NBC Washington for the past two years, the White House staff found cockroaches in at least four different places in Donald Trump’s official residence.
Rodents were found living in the Situation Room – which is the US President’s intelligence management centre – as well as the White House Navy mess food area.
The work orders also revealed a colony of ants were living in Chief of Staff John Kelly’s office.
Brian Miller, former inspector general for the US General Services Administration (GSA) which oversees maintenance work, told NBC Washington: “They are old buildings.
“Any of us who have old houses know old houses need a lot of work.”
White House officials sent hundreds of requests to the GSA.
As well as tackling pest infestations, the files show numerous jobs requested after the new administration moved in at the start of the year.
Former press secretary Sean Spicer requested new furniture and pictures for his office while Vice-President Mike Pence requested federal maintenance workers to refinish the legs of two “Martha Washington chairs”.
There was also a request to fit new draperies in the first lady’s East Wing office to “give the overall effect of the room being taller”.
The work orders submitted in 2017 are similar in number to those made in 2016 during the final year of the Obama administration, according to NBC Washington.
