Trump Turns White House Into 'Construction Disaster Zone' as He Struggles to Find Architect Willing to Do The Job

Trump's £233 million ($300 million) White House ballroom project descended into chaos as America's leading historic preservation group filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction, marking the first formal legal challenge to the controversial renovation that has seen costs balloon by 50 per cent and architects sacked for refusing to build a structure larger than the mansion itself.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation asked the U.S. District Court to block Trump's White House ballroom project. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges Trump demolished the 123-year-old East Wing in October without conducting any of the legally required environmental assessments or consulting the federal commissions charged with overseeing such work.

'No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,' the lawsuit states.

Architects Clash Over Ballroom Size as Costs Spiral Out of Control

The legal action caps months of turmoil that have seen Trump replace his handpicked architect after the designer warned him against constructing a ballroom that would dwarf the White House itself. James McCrery II had reportedly told Trump that his ballooning vision for the ballroom risks violating a basic architectural rule: don't let an extension engulf the building it's supposed to complement.

The president's response was to sack McCrery and hire Washington architect Shalom Baranes, whose firm has extensive experience with federal government projects. Trump wanted to keep pushing it bigger and bigger, namely in terms of capacity, whereas James McCrery, who's a classical architect, wanted to keep it smaller and specifically smaller than the White House main mansion.

The ballroom has metastasised from Trump's original £155 million ($200 million) estimate to at least £233 million ($300 million), with some White House officials privately acknowledging costs may reach £271 million ($350 million).

The White House said Trump and 'other patriot donors' would pay for the ballroom, which the president estimated would cost $300 million. The 90,000-square-foot structure would be nearly twice the size of the White House's 55,000-square-foot main residence.

Federal Oversight Collapses as Trump-Appointed Chairman Rubber-Stamps Project

The lawsuit exposes how Trump has systematically dismantled the federal review process designed to protect America's most iconic building. Will Scharf, who was named by Trump as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at the panel's monthly meeting last week that he was told by colleagues at the White House that the long-awaited plans would be filed in December.

Scharf, who simultaneously serves as Trump's White House staff secretary, has claimed the commission lacks jurisdiction over demolition work, only 'vertical construction'. The assertion directly contradicts the commission's congressional mandate, according to legal experts.

The trust challenged the White House's assertion that it didn't need to go through the planning process until 'vertical' construction began on the new ballroom, arguing that 'construction plans for the new building necessarily include demolition of the old building'.

Trump has stacked both key oversight bodies with political appointees. In October, his administration fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency charged with advising on design and aesthetics for the nation's capital. The purge cleared the way for loyalists unlikely to challenge the president's vision, critics argue.

Corporate Donors Pour Millions Into Project as Ethics Questions Mount

The ballroom has become a lightning rod for ethical concerns, with major corporations writing seven-figure cheques to Trump whilst simultaneously holding billions in federal contracts. Defence contractor Lockheed Martin pledged £7.8 million ($10 million) to the project whilst holding £25.9 billion ($33.4 billion) in federal contracts for 2025 alone, according to government spending data.

Google's parent company Alphabet agreed to contribute £17 million ($22 million) as part of a legal settlement after Trump sued the platform for removing his account following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The donation list, released by the White House in October, includes Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Coinbase Global, and T-Mobile — all companies with significant regulatory or contractual interests before the federal government.

The lawsuit names Trump as defendant alongside the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and the General Services Administration. The complaint alleges violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and constitutional requirements for congressional approval of federal construction projects.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle maintained Trump possesses 'full legal authority to modernise, renovate, and beautify the White House — just like all of his predecessors did'. The case now rests with District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee.