Donald Trump's extensive demolition and renovation of the White House's East Wing is reportedly concealing a far more secretive construction project, about which few details are known. Building work has been underway since October after the president unveiled plans for a lavish ballroom, now estimated to cost up to $400 million. However, court documents have hinted that another classified project is being carried out simultaneously.
White House director of management and administration Joshua Fisher previously stated that the overall East Wing project would 'enhance mission critical functionality' and 'make necessary security enhancements.' Observers have speculated that the 'top secret work' is a refurbishment of the underground presidential bunker, first commissioned in 1941 to protect the president in the event of an attack on the US.
'There are some things regarding this project that are, frankly, of top-secret nature that we are currently working on,' Fisher said during a recent meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission. He cited the project as part of the reason why demolition for the ballroom had begun before specific permission had been given by the commission.
According to recent court filings obtained by CNN, the White House defended the East Wing demolition by saying stopping the process would 'endanger national security and therefore impair the public interest.' A source close to the project told the outlet 'with a high degree of confidence… that all of the subterranean structures… [seem] to be gone,' to make way for refurbishment.
The bunker, which has been used for events including the evacuation of Dick Cheney on 9/11 and planning Joe Biden's secret trip to Ukraine in 2023, contains living quarters, external communication facilities, and the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Sources said that several contingencies remain should the president need to be evacuated while work is ongoing.
Trump has said multiple times that the cost of his presidential ballroom will be footed by private donors. The exact costs of the refortified bunker, likely falling onto the taxpayer, may never be known.
