Overview
- Documents obtained by reporters show President Trump hand-marked early ballroom sketches, enlarging the room and crossing out service corridors and two sets of service stairs.
- Architect James McCrery II warned that the altered design would leave too few emergency exits and offer little protection against a kitchen fire, and he says he "stepped aside" after completing the earliest designs.
- A White House spokesman called it false to link McCrery’s exit to code issues and said life-safety concerns have been addressed as the design evolved.
- The project is routed through the Executive Residence rather than a federal agency, which places it outside a federal law that otherwise requires compliance with national safety standards and limits D.C. jurisdiction.
- Clark Construction’s contract requires adherence to codes or to guidance from the Contracting Officer, Joshua Fisher, leaving unresolved questions about whether a formal code review occurred and what oversight or changes may follow.