Melania Trump shows off renewed Rose Garden ahead of RNC speech

Aug. 22 (UPI) — First lady Melania Trump on Saturday showed off a revamped Rose Garden ahead of a closed reception later in the day and her Republican National Convention speech there next week.

The first lady referred to the reception in a tweet with four photos of the renovated Rose Garden.

“Excited to honor history and celebrate the future in our beautiful @WhiteHouse Rose Garden this evening,” she tweeted. “Thank you to all who helped renew this iconic & truly gorgeous space.”

Melania Trump unveiled plans last month to restore the garden’s 1962 blueprint, which Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon designed during the Kennedy administration. The overhaul included enhancing the garden for events by adding better accessibility and support for broadcasting.

The Rose Garden, located adjacent to the Oval Office and West Wing, frequently hosts gatherings, televised speeches and news conferences with world leaders.

President Donald Trump and the first lady are scheduled to hold a closed reception in the Rose Garden later Saturday with Vice President Mike Pence, CNN reported.

The Rose Garden is also expected to be the site of the first lady’s speech Tuesday as part of the Republican National Convention. The convention runs Monday through Thursday.

Trump will give his convention address from the south lawn of the White House Thursday.

Democrats and some Republicans have voiced concern that federal employees who assist Trump with the speech would be campaigning for the president “while on duty,” which violates the Hatch Act.

Earlier this month a watchdog accused Trump’s senior policy advisor, Stephen Miller, of violating the ethics law when he criticized Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, in a Fox News interview from White House grounds, saying that he was “stuck in a basement.” The Office of Special Counsel determined that in 2018 six other White House officials violated the Hatch Act.