Democrats may not be happy about Donald Trump’s controversial renovations at the White House, but they do see a political opportunity in the GOP’s effusive defense.

As images of the demolition of the White House’s East Wing blanket news coverage, GOP lawmakers are standing by the president, justifying his choice to launch a private and pricey remodel of the East Wing during a government shutdown.

“I think it’s awesome,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said of the reportedly unauthorized construction. “The president has an unbelievable eye for detail and construction. Obviously, he’s great at it, and he’s making the White House into, I think, what the people around the world’s expectations are.”

“I personally don’t have a problem with it,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said. “I’ve walked through the east part of the White House before. You just kind of walk through it. I know there’s some offices there.”

“It’s not like it’s sacrosanct,” he said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., presented the renovation as a statement of work ethic.

“President Trump’s made it clear, even during a government shutdown, he’s gonna keep working,” Scalise said, touting the fact that private money is funding the project.

And when MSNBC pressed Scalise that the public doesn’t really know who’s paying for the renovation, Scalise seemed to answer a different question.

“We all know that the White House has been renovated multiple times,” Scalise said. “And these renovations are gonna benefit every future president and the American people.”

But Democrats are casting the president’s decision to bulldoze part of the White House — in the middle of a shutdown, no less — as a prime example of Trump being out of touch.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., labeled the demolition as “symbolic” of the Trump administration overall.