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Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Money
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Money
An update has been shared on Donald Trump's controversial nine-figure 'renovation' of the White House.
The Republican first announced plans to construct a multimillion-dollar ballroom for the presidential residence back in July, claiming the project would cost a staggering $200 million - but would reportedly be worth it when hosting world leaders.
In the months since, as well as racking up another $100,000,000 in costs - despite hordes of Americans enduring an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and relying on food stamps to get by - the assignment has sparked widespread backlash for its design.
As well as tearing down the entire historical East Wing to make space for his new ballroom, Trump's decision to decorate several areas of his residence in gold was branded as 'tacky'.
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In photos shared recently, viewers received a sneak peek at the 90,000-square-foot ballroom's new 'main entrance', which had been bedecked in metallic gold curtains, and flaunted some pretty basic tables.
"It's vulgar, and has an ambience of a funeral home," one critic wrote online of this addition.
Another demanded: "Who cares? Only the powerful and influential and wealthy can have a sit on the table. Average Americans can only be lucky in a lifetime."
However, new information on the hotly-debated project has emerged this week, confirming that Trump's team have hired a brand new architectural firm to take the lead.
The Washington Post reported that disagreements had formed between the right-wing administration and the original designer, McCrery Architects, over both size and timeline.
According to reports, Trump had insisted the assignment be made more elaborate than originally planned, all the while constricting the project's overall deadline.
As reported by UNN, firm owner James McCrery's vision became watered down as the president's 'ambitions for the project grew', with Trump demanding the renovations be complete by the end of his term in 2029.
These time restraints reportedly resulted in sloppyit planning, defined by a quickly-whipped-up contractor's model that included windows facing each other, and staircases that led to nowhere.
As of Thursday (4 December), representatives from Shalom Baranes Associates will now be taking over the ballroom's erection.
White House spokesman Davis R Ingle revealed that the Washington-based firm had been selected following the success of other government buildings that its in-house team had designed.
He went on to express hope that the company would be joining another 'team of experts', 'to bring to life President Trump's vision for building what will be the largest addition to the White House since the Oval Office'.
Ingle continued of the firm's founder: "Shalom is an experienced architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation's capital for decades, and his expertise will be a great asset in completing this project."
According to White House officials, McCrery will remain on the project as a consultant.
A White House spokesperson previously told Tyla: "President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves at no cost to the taxpayer – something everyone should celebrate.
"Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that."