• Baranes came to America as a child with help from Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society after family escaped antisemitism
• Architect publicly urged Trump in 2017 to keep doors open to refugees, calling himself proof of immigrant success
• Administration taps Democratic donor with modernist style to complete president’s classical vision

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — President Donald Trump has turned to an unlikely choice to complete his controversial White House ballroom project: a prominent Jewish architect who arrived in America as a refugee and once publicly challenged the president to keep the country’s doors open to immigrants fleeing tyranny.

Shalom Baranes, founder of the Washington-based firm Shalom Baranes Associates, will take over the $300 million East Wing reconstruction after the administration parted ways with original architect James McCrery II. The White House confirmed the change on Friday, calling Baranes “an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades.”

From Libyan Refugee to Pentagon Architect

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Baranes’ journey to becoming one of Washington’s most influential architects began with displacement. Born shortly after his parents fled Libya amid antisemitic persecution, his family escaped through Tunisia and Italy before arriving in America with assistance from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, now known as HIAS.

Baranes was just six years old when his family sailed into New York Harbor. “To this day, I remember the excitement of my father’s first glance at the Statue of Liberty,” he wrote in a 2017 Washington Post op-ed. “I was only six at the time and still mourning the loss of the red two-wheeled bike we had to leave behind.”

After studying at Exeter and Yale, Baranes founded his firm in 1981. His portfolio includes the $1 billion post-9/11 Pentagon renovation, the U.S. Treasury Building modernization, the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, and the GSA National Headquarters.

Publicly Challenged Trump on Immigration

Baranes’ selection stands out in an administration that typically favors partisan loyalists. He has donated repeatedly to Democratic candidates and openly criticized Trump’s signature immigration policies.

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In his 2017 op-ed, titled “I came here a refugee. And then I renovated the Pentagon,” Baranes gently pushed back against Trump’s travel ban.

“My hope is that the Trump administration will take actions to ensure that the travel ban is indeed temporary, so that good, hard-working individuals fleeing tyranny can find a new home as I did — and that each of them will be given the same opportunity to help build this great nation that I had.”

Among organizations lobbying against that travel ban was HIAS—the very group that helped Baranes’ family reach America.

Original Architect Clashed With Trump Over Size

The administration parted ways with McCrery Architects after reported disagreements over the ballroom’s expanding scope. Trump repeatedly pushed to make the 90,000-square-foot venue larger, while McCrery’s small firm—which typically handles churches and libraries—struggled to meet aggressive deadlines.

McCrery will remain as a consultant, though sources characterized the split as inevitable given the project’s scale. “Everybody realized he couldn’t do it,” one White House staffer told reporters.

Modernist Designer Meets Classical Vision

Baranes’ selection raises questions about stylistic compatibility. His designs typically trend toward the modern—he has even defended Brutalist architecture, a style Trump famously despises. Trump favors gilded classical aesthetics, evident in his Rococo-inspired White House interior updates.

The National Capital Planning Commission expects to receive ballroom plans this month, though crews have already demolished the East Wing and begun construction without formal approval.

Can a modernist architect who challenged Trump’s immigration policies deliver the gilded classical ballroom the president envisions—or will creative differences derail yet another partnership?

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