Washington Post: Trump clashed with architect over White House ballroom safety codes until architect quit

Trump Clashed with Architect Over White House Ballroom Safety, Quit Project

President Donald Trump refused to comply with building safety codes for his planned White House ballroom, leading to a conflict with the original architect that ended in his resignation.

According to The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, architect James McCrery II withdrew from the project in October after repeatedly warning that Trump's desired ballroom lacked adequate emergency exit routes and fire containment measures. The president reportedly dismissed these concerns, stating that building codes did not apply to anything built at the White House.

"I am the code," Trump said.

The Post obtained documents, including early ballroom designs bearing handwritten notes in the president's black Sharpie. The reporting indicates Trump is bypassing or overruling federal agencies that typically handle White House construction and are legally required to follow national building safety standards to the "maximum extent feasible," except for national security reasons.

Trump's White House construction projects are being routed through the Executive Residence, which is not a federal agency and is not subject to its rules. Buildings on federal property fall outside District of Columbia jurisdiction, meaning local building codes do not apply. Responsibility falls on contractors, whom Trump has working nearly around the clock to meet his deadlines.

After McCrery's resignation, the White House continued discussing safety concerns about the ballroom's design for months, according to the Post. It remains unclear whether more recent designs from the successor firm, Shalom Baranes Associates, addressed those issues.

Trump has been wholly focused on the expensive ballroom, reneging on promises that it would be financed entirely by private donations and invoking national security justifications that have been debunked. If he is overruling safety codes, he is actually risking national security.

Editor's Pick: Zelenskiy Tries Not to Roll His Eyes as Trump Rants About Ballroom

RFK Jr. Diverted $12 Million from Minority Health Office for Personal Security

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. redirected millions of dollars from the Office of Minority Health to bolster his own security, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Kennedy moved $12 million from the office, which was created by Republican President Ronald Reagan to address higher Black infant mortality rates. HHS informed Congress earlier this year that the funds would cover RFK Jr.'s security costs, which grew from $10 million in 2025 to $17 million in 2026, according to the Journal's sources.

In response, HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard said the cuts "reflect HHS priorities and programmatic assessments—not the Secretary's security needs."

"Secretary Kennedy faces a security environment that differs significantly from that of previous HHS secretaries," Hilliard added. "His protection reflects the threats he faces, his extensive travel, and the security required for him to safely carry out his duties nationwide."

Kennedy initially requested protection from the U.S. Marshals Service rather than the security provided by the Office of the Inspector General. He stopped speaking at outdoor events after a man wearing a bike helmet rushed at him last year.

Editor's Pick: Measles Scare Hits Children's Hospital as RFK Jr. Does Nothing

Stephen Miller Blames Thune for Potential Midterm Losses, Pushes SAVE Act

Donald Trump told Republicans to vote as if he were on the November ballot. But White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is distancing the administration from potential midterm losses.

"If the Republicans lose the midterms it'll be because [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune didn't get the SAVE America Act passed," Miller wrote on X Tuesday, adding that the predicted loss "rests solely on John Thune's shoulders."

The SAVE America Act originally proposed amendments to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, requiring voters to present a passport or birth certificate to register. Critics argued this would restrict millions of Americans from voting, noting that half the country's population lacks a passport and that the legislation would make it difficult for anyone who changed their name—including married women—to register.

The White House heralded the bill as critical to election integrity. Trump made his support for other legislation contingent on the SAVE Act's passage, calling it Congress's top priority.

The initiative stalled over the summer when House Republicans tied it to the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which has stalled the typically uncontroversial defense bill in the Senate. The SAVE America Act is now one of 650 bills awaiting Senate action.

Republicans are expecting losses during the midterms, with attention shifting from purple states like North Carolina—perceived as a "money sink for Dems," per Politico—to historically red states like Alaska and Ohio.

Read more about the midterms: Trump's Approval Rating Tanks Further Just Weeks Ahead of Midterms

Trump Personally Profiting Millions from AI Industry Stock Trades

President Donald Trump is personally making tens of millions of dollars from the AI industry, according to financial disclosures filed Tuesday.

Trump reported 1,156 securities transactions in July alone, CNBC reported. He purchased at least $43.6 million worth of shares and sold at least $35.6 million.

The largest transactions were sales of Microsoft and Amazon shares on July 20, totaling between $5 million and $25 million each. Days later, Trump reported buying between $100,001 and $250,000 of Microsoft and between $1,001 and $15,000 of Amazon.

This is particularly concerning given Trump's emergence as a champion for artificial intelligence and data centers—an industry in which Microsoft and Amazon have invested billions. These companies are also paying into the president's pockets for his vanity projects.

The filing also revealed that Trump sold between $250,001 and $500,000 of Northrop Grumman on the same day he signed an executive order tightening supply chain requirements for defense contractors.

Trump's trades totaled between $79 million and $270 million—up slightly from June, when he traded shares worth between $78.1 million and $263.1 million. Trump maintains that trading is done by independent advisers on his behalf without his input.

Trump's 2025 financial disclosure showed he made more than $2 billion during his first year back in the White House, thanks to cryptocurrency, foreign real estate, stock trading, and more. In 2025, he bought or sold stocks 21,000 times with companies he discusses publicly, though his initial self-reporting showed only 800 transactions.

Read more about Trump's finances: Trump Financial Disclosures Reveal He and Musk Are Best Friends Again

Trump Raves About Ballroom During UN Meeting with Zelenskiy

President Trump couldn't stop praising his planned White House ballroom while taking questions alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Tuesday at the United Nations.

Trump bragged that Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the White House later this week was "the hottest ticket that they've seen in a long time."

"Almost as hot as when Zelenskiy comes into town," Trump said to laughs. Zelenskiy quipped, "I'm glad," as Trump chuckled and patted the Ukrainian president's knee.

Trump lamented that his ballroom was not yet ready, otherwise he could have hosted 2,000 people. When asked if he would bring Zelenskiy to the ballroom for a future visit, Trump replied, "Well, we might have that, yes.… It's under budget and ahead of schedule."

Throughout the exchange, Zelenskiy struggled not to roll his eyes or look annoyed—understandably, as he is leading a war against Russia's invasion and needs Trump's support. Trump, however, remains more focused on his vanity projects, dedicating much of his time and speeches to the ballroom and other unnecessary construction in Washington, D.C.

Dr. John Gartner, a former assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, told The Daily Beast that Trump's cognitive decline is worsening, as he is increasingly "obsessed with things that reflect glory on him."

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