Trump sacks architect who didn’t want to make his ballroom bigger than the White House

After disagreeing over the size of Donald Trump’s prized $300,000,000 ballroom, the architect behind the project has been fired.

The President and architect James McCrery II have parted ways after ‘inability to hit deadlines’ and arguments over the planned project’s size, which would dwarf the White House.

In October, Trump’s decision to demolish the historic East Wing of the White House angered many Americans, as he made way for the new construction.

If his plans for the 90,000 square foot ‘gilded ballroom’ come to fruition with the new architectural firm Shalom Baranes, who has renovated other government buildings, the building would dwarf the White House, which is only 55,000 square feet.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said of the project: ‘Shalom is an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades and his experience will be a great asset to the completion of this project.

The ballroom is expected to hold 1,000 guests, but the sheer size of it has made its completion date of January 2029 very ambitious, according to people close to the operation.

What did Trump tear down for his ballroom?

For more than 100 years, the East Wing served as the traditional base of operations for the first lady.

But in October, work started on demolishing the sector despite a lack of planning approval from the federal agency that oversees such projects.

Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed construction equipment tearing into the East Wing facade with windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground.

In July when Trump first announced the ballroom, he said it would not interfere with the mansion itself.

‘It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,’ he said of the White House.

The East Wing houses several offices, including those of the first lady. It was built in 1902 and has been renovated over the years, with a second storey added in 1942, according to the White House.

How is Trump paying for the ballroom?

Trump insists that presidents have desired such a ballroom for 150 years and that he is adding the massive 90,000-square-foot, glass-walled space because the East Room was too small.

The ballroom will be the biggest structural change to the executive mansion since the addition in 1948 of the Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn, even dwarfing the residence itself.

The White House released a list of private donors it says are funding the ballroom, including Amazon, Google, Meta, and billionaire investors.

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