President Donald Trump has filled the White House Rose Garden with five bronze statues of Founding Fathers and Revolutionary War soldiers during his second term, marking the latest addition to his sweeping redesign of the presidential residence. The sculptures—depicting George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and a monument honoring Revolutionary War troops—now occupy the paved-over space that once held the iconic garden’s lawn.
The most recent addition, a life-sized bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson seated with a quill and the Declaration of Independence in his lap, was installed in July 2026 by sculptor George Lundeen. Trump personally thanked Lundeen for the work, calling it “really beautiful,” according to reporting by The Washington Post.
Three of the statues—those depicting Franklin, Hamilton, and the Revolutionary War monument titled “Freedom’s Charge”—are on loan from Harlan Crow, a conservative art collector and political donor, according to New York Magazine. The White House initially described them as coming from “generous private American patriots” without disclosing Crow’s identity. The Washington statue was moved to the Rose Garden from the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson statue was commissioned specifically for the White House.
Trump paved over the Rose Garden’s grass in summer 2025, replacing the lawn with pale stone and transforming the historic space into a patio-like venue. He said at the time that the grass was always wet and inconvenient for women in high heels, and that the redesigned space would be better suited for large press conferences. The paved garden now also features Mar-a-Lago-style patio tables, gold lettering and plaques, a giant mirror, and what Trump has branded the “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
The Rose Garden statues are part of Trump’s broader fixation with monument-building. In 2020, during his first term, Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Garden of American Heroes, envisioning 250 life-sized statues of notable Americans in a new park along Washington’s Potomac River. In May 2026, he revived the project, announcing plans to build the garden in time for America’s 250th birthday. However, a lawsuit filed by preservation and cultural-heritage organizations has stalled that initiative, according to reporting by ABC News.
Trump’s approach to statuary reflects his broader response to the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s killing, when monuments across the country were removed or toppled. He issued executive orders protecting existing statues and promoting the creation of new realistic, lifelike depictions of historical figures—explicitly barring modernist or abstract designs. Earlier this year, his administration returned a statue of Christopher Columbus to public display in Washington and moved a bronze of Caesar Rodney, a slave-owning Founding Father, to Freedom Plaza.
The Rose Garden additions are Trump’s least controversial White House renovation, according to New York Magazine, but the magazine noted the space has become increasingly cluttered with his aesthetic preferences. Beyond the statues, the garden now features gold wall embellishments, redundant signage, and patio furnishings that echo the design of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Sources
- New York Magazine — Trump’s announcement of the National Garden of American Heroes in 2020, the revival of the project in May 2026, the lawsuit stalling the Potomac River garden, the statues on loan from Harlan Crow, and the Rose Garden’s current clutter
- The Independent — Details on the Thomas Jefferson statue by George Lundeen, Trump’s remarks thanking the sculptor, the five-statue count, the Rose Garden paving in summer 2025, and Trump’s historical monument initiatives since 2020
- The Washington Post — Confirmation that the Franklin, Hamilton, and “Freedom’s Charge” statues are on loan from Harlan Crow, and Trump’s July 2026 statement to Lundeen about the Jefferson sculpture
- USA Today — Timeline of the National Garden of American Heroes project and legal challenges filed against it
- ABC News — Lawsuit details challenging Trump’s planned National Garden of American Heroes
