Trump Reportedly Blew Off Safety Codes in White House Ballroom Construction: ‘I Am the Code’

(Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump allegedly scoffed at fire and safety code issues in the early stages of the White House ballroom project.

Sources told The Washington Post the first architect to tackle the job, James McCrery II, stepped down in October after repeatedly pointing out that Trump’s early designs for the project were problematic.

Trump, who would regularly mark up images and plans for the controversial space with a black Sharpie, wanted designs that skimped on required emergency exits and didn’t have proper fire safety measures, according to the report.

When the fire and safety code issues were pointed out, the president allegedly had only one thing to say.

“I am the code,” Trump said, according to the report.

The $400 million ballroom project has sparked controversy and legal back-and-forth for months, with Trump repeatedly declaring the space is needed for security reasons.

The president demolished the historic East Wing and began work on the ballroom without required approvals from Congress. 

Overseeing the project is the little-known Executive Residence, an office that’s not required to follow federal rules, according to the report.

The question of fire and safety codes lingered for months, The Post reported:

Discussions about the life-safety deficiencies in the ballroom’s design continued for months after McCrery resigned, according to White House records. It is not clear from the records reviewed by The Post whether the safety issues he identified have been resolved in more recent designs by Shalom Baranes Associates, the architecture firm that replaced McCrery’s firm late last year.

Shalom Baranes Associates declined to comment.

The White House said in a statement that McCrery’s exit from the project had nothing to do with the fire and safety code issue and insisted all such questions “have been addressed and resolved continuously as the design has evolved.”

“McCrery was a valued member of the initial design team of the East Wing Modernization Project,” according to the statement.

“The decision was made to move in another direction for the second phase of the project and we continue to make tremendous strides in realizing the goal of providing a world class military and functional facility for future Presidents to utilize.”

McCrery initially declined to comment but later provided The Post with a statement.

“President Trump entrusted me with the earliest stages of the new ballroom design,” the statement said. “I am truly grateful for that honor and for the rich experience of working for him alongside all the highly talented and committed patriots at the Executive Mansion. Having completed the earliest designs, I stepped aside and a new firm was engaged.”

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