The White House pushed back against a New York Times investigation detailing architectural flaws in the newly renovated Eisenhower Executive Office Building ballroom, including a staircase that leads to a solid wall. The White House launched a sharp rebuttal Friday against a New York Times investigation detailing architectural flaws in the newly renovated Eisenhower Executive Office Building ballroom, including a grand staircase that leads to a solid wall. The Times report, published Thursday evening, examined the $45 million renovation of the historic Beaux-Arts space, finding that contractors struggled with design and execution failures that left the project years behind schedule and millions over budget. The centerpiece was a photograph showing a sweeping marble staircase that ascends to a solid wall where an entrance to the East Wing was planned but never completed. The staircase, described by one architect as "a staircase to nowhere," has become a point of embarrassment for an administration that has made infrastructure a centerpiece of its messaging. "This is cherry-picked nitpicking from a newspaper that has never met a Trump success story it didn't want to tear down," ...