WASHINGTON, 04 April. - (ANA) - US President Trump has been talking about the emergency facility beneath what was once the East Wing, details of which are usually kept secret, as he tries to justify his renovation.

 

He shared some of his plans for the bunker, referring to the secure underground facility as a “massive complex.

 

While most public attention has focused on the aboveground portion of President Trump’s planned $400 million ballroom, what is underneath could prove to be the more complex and expensive portion of the project.

 

Work crews have been digging in the earth for weeks, ripping out the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC, to build something bigger, better and deeper underground, according to the New York Times.

 

The PEOC, which was built during World War II to protect the president and other top officials in the event of an emergency, was where Vice President Dick Cheney was hustled after the September 11 attacks, later to be joined by President George W. Bush and his national security teams. 

 

Mr. Trump was rushed there, too, during protests over the death of George Floyd in 2020.

 

The bunker is beneath what was once the East Wing, which Mr. Trump tore down last year to make way for his ballroom.

 

Details of the underground facility are usually shrouded in secrecy. But as Mr. Trump’s ballroom faces legal challenges, he has been talking more openly about the bunker. He argues that the two are linked, which makes building the ballroom a matter of security.

 

Speaking on Sunday to reporters on Air Force One, Mr. Trump said that he envisioned his 90,000-square-foot ballroom as a “shed” for the underground project.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/04 April 2026 - - -