There’s already a secret bunker at the White House where Trump wants to build his: Report
The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump’s plans to build a ballroom at the White House, complete with an underground bunker. Trump has long said the ballroom’s addition is necessary for national security. But a new report by The Washington Post suggests the secure underground facility isn’t needed — because the White House already has one.
Three former White House officials told The Post a nuclear-proof shelter was already commissioned in response to 9/11 and completed during Barack Obama’s presidency. It’s meant to serve as a refuge for the president and his top officials in the event of a national emergency.
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What we know about the existing bunker
The facility was built to replace the Presidential Emergency Operations Center in the East Wing’s basement, which was built during World War II to protect then-President Franklin Roosevelt. On 9/11, then-First Lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney took refuge in that bunker.
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President Trump had the White House’s famous East Wing torn down in October 2025 to make way for the planned ballroom.
According to The Post, the newer facility is buried more than 60 feet below the White House complex and can house dozens of people for multiple weeks. It’s meant to be a secure command center for the president and his team to run the country in times of extreme duress, according to the report.
The deep underground bunker is accessible by private elevator, stores a month’s supply of food, has its own air supply system and is intended to shield its inhabitants from a range of threats, including the blast of a weapon of mass destruction, The Post reports.
Trump’s plan
The administration is defending Trump’s argument that the new bunker included in the ballroom’s more than $400 million price tag is still necessary.
“The East Wing Modernization Project is inextricably tied to the security of the President, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told The Post in a statement. “Recent events such as the foiled attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements.”
The project’s fate remains unclear. On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order allowing work to continue for now, while the full court weighs an emergency appeal arguing that the project needs congressional approval.
An excavator sits on the rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The demolition is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to build a ballroom on the eastern side of the White House. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media alongside posters of his proposed White House ballroom amid construction at the White House on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Senate parliamentarian ruled this week that taxpayer funds in the budget reconciliation package cannot be used for a $1 billion provision intended to fund security for Trump’s White House ballroom. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump displays a rendering of his proposed $250 million White House ballroom as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (L) in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Less than a week after hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump is meeting with Rutte to discuss the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
White House lawyers told the Supreme Court earlier this month that the complex is already 65% complete. They said a 250-person construction crew was working on it 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
The administration says the installation is five stories deep into the ground, and workers have completed much of the underground construction. They also told the Supreme Court the structure is already 70 feet above ground in some places.
The finished ballroom is expected to be 90,000-square-feet with the capacity to hold at least 650 people.