A Second Architect Has Hit the White House Ballroom Project After the First Was Fired

Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, "A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines." It's a pretty dark statement, but we take it to mean that any errors an architect makes cannot be undone, but rather hidden or if possible, improved upon. It's kind of a builder's version of turning lemons into lemonade.

Speaking of structures that are really going through it, President Donald Trump is still knee deep in the construction of the White House ballroom. The assembly of the impossibly big addition, which will dwarf the White House itself, hit a bit of a snag when the president replaced the original architect. Was it something he said? Here's what we know.

It's no secret that renovating one's home is almost always an arduous task that rarely goes smoothly. In fact, HGTV has benefited from people whose failed home makeovers required an extremely public correction. Trump is particularly obsessed with the White House ballroom and has claimed this is something "they" have wanted for 150 years. It's strange to think that during World War I, World War 2, and the Vietnam War, someone was clamoring for a bigger dance floor, but we digress.

The project was announced in July 2025 and by October of that year, the East Wing was completely demolished. That part of the White House was built by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942, and was intended to provide more office space. When it was destroyed, the East Wing was historically used as the Office of the First Lady. In December 2025, President Trump announced a new architect was taking over.

While the White House hasn't officially said why they were replacing McCrery Architects, we do know the president got into it with them over the size of the ballroom, per The New York Times. James McCrery, who runs the firm, was originally told the ballroom would only need to fit 500 guests. That number slowly ballooned to 1,350. The outlet also learned that Trump reportedly told McCrery he didn't need to follow permitting, zoning, or code requirements.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a written statement that "Shalom Baranes has joined the team of experts to carry out President Trump’s vision on building what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office," reports WBFF. He continued, "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."

According to the firm's portfolio, Shalom Baranes has previously worked on The Pentagon, the John A. Wilson building which houses the mayor's offices, and the main Treasury building, to name a few. A White House official said McCrery would still be working on the ballroom project as a consultant.