--- title: "Trump Building Top Secret Installation Under East Wing" description: "Plans to rebuild an underground shelter under the White House's East Wing have been shrouded in plenty of secrecy." date: "2026-01-25" modified: "2026-01-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/trump-top-secret-east-wing" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Trump Building Top Secret Installation Under East Wing ![Plans to rebuild an underground shelter under the White House's East Wing have been shrouded in plenty of secrecy.]() *Heather Diehl/Getty Images* Three months ago, the Trump administration [broke ground]() on its highly controversial plans to add a sprawling ballroom to the White House's East Wing. The State Department-funded buildout attracted plenty of scrutiny from [congressional inquiries](), [lawsuits](), and the [press](). Just this week, a US District judge will be [weighing a bid]() by a preservation group to grind the $400 million plans to a halt. Meanwhile, as [*CNN* reports](), a far more discreet plan is in the works. An existing bunker, called the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which was built in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, had to make way for the ballroom. Plans to rebuild an underground shelter that could once again provide protection for key White House officials have been shrouded in plenty of secrecy. And given the country's [current precarious state of unrest]() — in large part the result of the Trump administration's controversial actions — that's not particularly surprising. It sounds like a formidable installation. A source with knowledge of the matter told *CNN* that the new bunker will be "replaced with new technology to counter evolving threats." White House director of management and administration Joshua Fisher told reporters that the administration is making "necessary security enhancements," and delivering "resilient, adaptive infrastructure aligned with future mission needs" with its plans for the ballroom. "There are some things regarding this project that are, frankly, of top-secret nature that we are currently working on," he added, as quoted by *CNN*. "That does not preclude us from changing the above-grade structure, but that work needed to be considered when doing this project, which was not part of the \[National Capital Planning Commission\] process." The Presidential Emergency Operations Center was designed to protect officials from major attacks, including a potential nuclear explosion. Former vice president Dick Cheney fled to the facility in the moments ahead of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, for instance. Trump also [reportedly used the bunker]() during the 2020 George Floyd protests. The complex was a "very complicated submarine that was built in the 1940s — a self-contained unit, \[with\] separate power backups, separate water backups, separate air filtration," a source told *CNN*. "But all the infrastructure is 1940s infrastructure." A separate source confirmed to the broadcaster that "all of the subterranean structures," including the bunker, have been gutted as well. How much all of this will cost, and whether all of the associated expenses will actually be picked up by private donors, as president Donald Trump has [assured](), remains unclear. "If you think about trying to mitigate the threats today and the threats for tomorrow, you’re really talking about emerging technologies, emerging infrastructure — stuff that may not be commercially available," risk management executive and former US Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow told *CNN*. "We’re never going to get the line of sight on how much that costs." **More on the White House:** [*Simulation Found Civil War Could Be Triggered by Exactly What ICE Is Doing Right Now*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()