This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
Construction is underway on a ballroom being added to the East Wing of the White House in Washington, on Nov. 17, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
President Donald Trump has hired a new lead architect for his $300 million White House ballroom renovation, according to a White House official on Thursday.
Shalom Baranes, who has left his mark already on Washington’s architectural landscape, will take over the central role, as James McCrery, the former lead, now moves into a consulting role.
“As we begin to transition into the next stage of development on the White House ballroom, the administration is excited to share that the highly talented Shalom Baranes has joined the team of experts to carry out President Trump’s vision on building what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.
He noted Baranes is an “accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades.”
Alongside the ballroom, Trump also transformed the Rose Garden in 2020 into a stone patio intended to mirror its 1962 Kennedy-era origins while also updating drainage, adding TV-optimized lighting, and upgrading utilities. The Rose Garden was also renamed under Trump to the Rose Garden Club. Trump additionally adorned the Oval Office with gold decor and updated the Lincoln Bathroom with a marble design.
The ballroom renovation, being done in a classical design, will encompass 90,000 square feet (about 8,360 square meters), which is far larger than prior projects in terms of size and scale and represents the most extensive construction at the White House in decades.
The new ballroom is set to accommodate 650 to 1,000 guests for events such as state dinners. Funding for the new ballroom comes in the form of private donations. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of Trump’s term in early 2029.
Demolition of the East Wing, which Trump said was in poor shape, began in October to make way for the new ballroom.
Trump has generally championed upgrading federal property during his second term. He also enlisted golf legend Jack Nicklaus for renovations at Joint Base Andrews’s course.
The White House has been renovated numerous times, such as in the 1950s under Truman and the addition of the West Wing under Theodore Roosevelt. Nixon had a bowling alley built at the White House.
Trump replaced members of the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews designs for federal buildings, as the ballroom construction moves forward. The National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by Trump aide Will Scharf, will evaluate the submission for building phases.
Kimberly Hayek is a reporter for The Epoch Times. She covers California news and has worked as an editor and on scene at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2018 migrant caravan crisis.
