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President Donald Trump revealed this Monday, onboard Air Force One, that the United States Armed Forces are constructing a massive underground military complex beneath the controversial ballroom being built in the East Wing of the White House.
"The Armed Forces are building a large complex under the ballroom; this has recently come to light due to a ridiculous lawsuit that was filed," Trump stated to the journalists accompanying him on the flight.
The leader described the ballroom as a mere "cover" for the military installation that is located deep within the presidential complex.
Trump showcased architectural plans and detailed the project's features: "We have completely armored glass; we have drone-proof roofs and coverings."
He also asserted that the project is ahead of schedule: "The construction is underway and we are doing very well."
The existence of the military component was not entirely unknown. Last Thursday, during a cabinet meeting, Trump admitted that this element of national security "was supposed to remain a secret," although he clarified: "It’s no longer a secret; the military wanted it more than anyone."
CNN had previously reported in January 2026 that Trump would be reconstructing a secret bunker beneath the East Wing, but it was a lawsuit that compelled the public disclosure of the project.
to halt the construction of the hall until the president receives congressional approval, claiming that the work is being carried out without the necessary legislative endorsement in an area of high historical and symbolic value.
That lawsuit is still under consideration by a federal judge, following the rejection of a temporary restraining order on February 26.
Trump justified the security measures in the context of the armed conflict that the United States and Israel initiated against Iran on February 28: "Unfortunately, we live in a time when that is a good thing."
The project has a direct historical precedent: the East Wing was built in the 1940s specifically to conceal the construction of the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, the underground bunker ordered by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
That same bunker housed Vice President Dick Cheney and other high-ranking officials during the attacks on September 11, 2001.
The ballroom, designed to accommodate between 650 and 1,000 guests, started with a budget of about 200 million dollars that has escalated to approximately 400 million, funded by private donations from companies such as Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Coinbase.
The United States Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved the project in February, and the National Capital Planning Commission is set to vote on it on April 2.
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