Donald Trump

Trump Reportedly Rejected Building Codes for His White House Ballroom

“I am the code,” he told the architect, according to The Washington Post.

Joe Lancaster | 9.24.2026 12:55 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Illustration: BONNIE CASH/UPI/Newscom)

Last year, President Donald Trump bulldozed the East Wing of the White House. In its place, he planned to build a giant formal ballroom that would dwarf the rest of the building.

The project has been the subject of litigation: Federal law says only Congress can approve major structural changes to the White House, while Trump says his preferences take precedent.

It turns out that Trump's attitude extends all the way down to the building codes.

"In the weeks leading up to his resignation last year, the first architect on the White House ballroom clashed with President Donald Trump over design features that the architect believed violated building safety codes," The Washington Post reported this week. "James McCrery II withdrew from the project last October after warning repeatedly that Trump was insisting on a preliminary design that did not provide adequate emergency exit routes or fire-containment measures."

It should perhaps be no........

© Reason.com