President Trump’s plan to demolish the East Wing and build a long-sought 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom has drawn attention to a quieter, more contested element of the project: extensive military and security work beneath the site where an older underground bunker once stood.
Demolition of the East Wing began in October to make way for the roughly $300 million ballroom. The proposal sparked protests and criticism from preservationists and architects, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to stop the work. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered construction paused until Congress authorizes completion, but he permitted some activity to continue “for the safety and security of the White House,” accepting the administration’s argument that the project has security as well as aesthetic purposes.
In public remarks and court filings the administration has emphasized the security rationale. On Air Force One, Trump said the ballroom “essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under,” and said “high‑grade bulletproof glass” would shield the space below “from drones and … from any other thing.” He read from a note in the Oval Office listing features he said are included: drone‑proof roofing, secure air handling, bio‑defense measures, hardened telecommunications, bomb shelters, and extensive medical facilities.
The existence of the older Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) beneath the East Wing has been widely known for decades. Built under the East Wing during World War II for Franklin D. Roosevelt, the facility featured thick concrete walls, a small bedroom and bath for the president, ventilation masks, food stores and communications gear. It was upgraded over time and used on Sept. 11, 2001; the government later released photos showing senior officials, including President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, sheltering there.
Accounts from former first lady Laura Bush and others have described a subterranean command center with phones, televisions and communications equipment. Renovations under President Obama included a major excavation near the Oval Office that exposed tunnels and prompted speculation; the General Services Administration called that work routine HVAC and electrical upgrades, but reporters and observers noted what they described as a sprawling multistory underground structure that required truckloads of concrete and steel. The 2011 “Big Dig” drew skepticism and coverage suggesting the work had security dimensions.
Questions resurfaced in 2020 during protests outside the White House, when the Secret Service briefly moved President Trump into an underground area; Trump later said it was “more for an inspection.” During the current East Wing demolition, CNN reported the old bunker had been dismantled, and public information about what will replace it underground remains limited.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide details, saying only that the military was making upgrades. In court, the Secret Service confirmed it was involved but gave few specifics. Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the agency was working with contractors on temporary security and safety measures around the construction site and warned that stopping work would hamper the Secret Service’s statutory duties; he offered to brief the judge privately on law‑enforcement sensitive and classified matters. Other officials similarly sought to submit information in a classified setting to avoid putting national security details on the public docket.
Trump has insisted the project is proceeding “with the design, consent, and approval of the highest levels of the United States Military and Secret Service,” and accused opponents of revealing a “heretofore Top Secret fact.” At a planning commission meeting, a White House official said some aspects of the project were “top‑secret.”
Critics, however, have concentrated less on the security claims than on the lack of public input, absent congressional authorization, possible environmental impacts and the effect on a historically significant building. After soliciting public comments and making some modifications, the National Capital Planning Commission approved an adjusted version of the ballroom plan even as the federal court order remained in effect.
The dispute highlights the tension between necessary secrecy for national‑security work and demands for transparency and oversight when that work affects public landmarks. The White House’s description of modern upgrades—drone defenses, enhanced biosecurity, medical facilities and hardened communications—aligns with broader post‑9/11 and pandemic‑era priorities for continuity of government. But carrying out major construction at a historic site without fuller public debate or clear congressional authorization has fueled legal challenges and civic pushback.
As the administration appeals Judge Leon’s decision, some security‑related construction continues under a narrow court exception. Filings and officials’ comments make clear the ballroom is being presented as a protective or covering structure for extensive, partly classified underground upgrades. Whether those upgrades require additional congressional approval, greater public oversight or stricter historic‑preservation procedures is likely to remain a focus of the ongoing legal and public debate.