Trump ousts White House ballroom architect amid fight over size

Watch Trump ousts White House ballroom architect amid fight over size - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

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00:00President Trump has quietly replaced the architect he handpicked to design his massive new White

00:08House ballroom, a $300 billion project already reshaping the South Lawn.

00:13The Washington Post was first to report the news. For three months, architect James McCrary led the

00:18design until late October, when he stepped aside after clashing with the president over the ever

00:24expanding size of the building. Sources say the real breaking point was his small firm missing

00:30deadlines on a project that Trump wants finished before the end of his term. The job now goes to

00:35Shalom Baranis, a veteran architect behind major D.C. federal buildings and the post-9-11 Pentagon

00:41renovation. Crews have already demolished the East Wing and erected a towering crane as they prepare

00:47the site. But there is growing backlash. Preservationists say the project skipped normal

00:52review, and a new Senate bill, the so-called No Palaces Act, would force more oversight.

00:58The administration expects to submit formal plans to federal planners this month,

01:03setting up a major fight over what could become the biggest addition to the White House

01:07in more than a century.