President Donald Trump is reportedly locked in a standoff with the architect he picked to design the new White House Ballroom.
Trump wants James McCrery II to design the ballroom and supersize it, so that it is bigger than the White House itself. Just like Texas, Trump wants everything to be bigger.
His push to supersize the already huge addition has led to weeks of friction behind closed doors in the White House, according to four people on the spot, who spoke anonymously to the Washington Post.
According to the insiders, Trump feels a 90,000-sq-ft ballroom, which is already larger than the 55,000-sq-ft White House it is attached to, is too small. However, McCrery has urged restraint.
Back in August, McCrery took an impromptu walk on the roof of the White House with Donald Trump. At that time, he reportedly warned that the huge add on risks violating one of architecture’s simplest rules. That rule is that you don’t let an extension engulf the building it’s supposed to complement. However, insiders say that Trump is not convinced.
you really aren’t prepared for how stupid, ugly, and lopsided trump’s $200 million white house ballroom is. pic.twitter.com/tlEf3WNClM
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) October 21, 2025
The news comes after White House staff had to talk the president down from another potentially dangerous addition to the White House. Previously, he had apparently wanted to install an extremely heavy chandelier in the Oval Office. According to a new book by Republican strategist Scott Jennings, the weight of this would cause structural concerns.
It was previously reported that a model of the ballroom, which Trump proudly revealed to the press last month, has many issues.
Also, reports suggest that a model of the reported annex, which was proudly unveiled to the press last month, is fraught with issues. However, a White House official has admitted that Trump and McCrery have disagreements over the issue, insisting there is nothing amiss and they are involved in “constructive dialogue.”
“As with any building, there is a conversation between the principal and the architect,” the official said. “All parties are excited to execute on the president’s vision on what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office.”
According to the Washington Post, Trump’s focus on the ballroom project and wish to realize his vision, comes despite objections from McCrery, historic preservationists and others over a lack of public input into the project. Trump keeps pushing over his belief in his vision, despite protests.
Since his second term started 10 months ago, the president has waged a campaign to remake the White House in his own gold-plated image and refuses to take no for an answer.
Several administration officials have acknowledged that Trump often insists on micromanaging the ballroom project, calling frequent meetings about the design and materials. This is so much so, that a model of the new ballroom is now a regular fixture in the Oval Office, for all to see.
Obama once wore a tan suit and they had pitchforks out.
Today demolition crews begun tearing down parts of the East Wing of the White House to build Trump’s $250 Million ballroom after claiming it wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing White House structure. pic.twitter.com/vpfS9HNbdv
— david 🌻 (@realdavidonline) October 20, 2025
Meanwhile, in the White House’s 233-year history, this renovation represents one of the largest changes to the structure, without any formal public review. So far, Trump’s administration hasn’t revealed any key details to the public, including its planned height.
At 90,000 sq ft, the new structure is also expected to house a suite of offices that were previously located in the now demolished East Wing, including that used by Melania Trump. Moreover, the White House has so far declined to reveal details of the emergency bunker that was previously located under the East Wing, while citing matters of national security.
Recently, the busy project construction site has been almost completely fenced off from public view, where reinforced concrete pipes and an array of heavy equipment is kept firmly under wraps.
