Existing White House bunker undermines need for East Wing renovation, officials reportedly say

A new report says the White House already has an existing underground bunker for the president and his staff in case of national security threats, potentially undercutting administration claims of an urgent need for the East Wing renovations.

Three former officials told The Washington Post that the White House complex currently includes a subterranean, highly secure facility of the kind President Trump has said is needed under his proposed ballroom. Two of the officials reportedly said the bunker can withstand a nuclear blast and is capable of housing the president and dozens of staffers for weeks on end.

The officials say the military complex undercuts the need for the current East Wing renovations, which the Trump administration has argued are needed to mitigate threats to the president and those who tail him on a daily basis.

The facility sits 60 feet underground and was completed during the Obama administration, as reported by The Washington Post.

Under former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an underground bunker now known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center was installed below the White House's East Wing complex to deal with potential threats tied to World War II.

During that time, there was also a secret tunnel developed, so the president could be taken to the Treasury Department building, adjacent to the White House in the need for a swift exit from the White House campus.

"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," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Hill.

The Trump administration argues the former East Wing offered no suitable options for modern day threats.

"As declarations explain, the old East Wing's structure could not bear the weight of necessary security materials—e.g., bullet- and blast-proof windows, fortified walls and roofing, missile-resistant columns, and protective partitioning," attorneys for the federal government wrote in court filings.

"The military installation underground also required massive changes—e.g., a military-grade ventilation system, revamped hospital, and medical facilities—that could not be built with a fragile structure on top. Those security needs inform what any such above-ground structure must entail," they added.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit chartered by Congress to protect places of national significance, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging the president did not have the authority to unilaterally overhaul the White House campus.

As a result, federal appeals and district judges previously issued blocks to the administration's above-ground construction on the ballroom, ruling the project needs congressional authorization.

On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a ruling that was set to halt construction, ruling that work can briefly continue as the Supreme Court weighs Trump's emergency plea for it to get involved.

The Trump administration argues the project above and below ground are one in the same.

"The government has never suggested the below-ground bunker and above-ground ballroom were independent. To the contrary, as construction and plans proceeded, the government explained the interconnectedness and diminishing flexibility for changes," attorneys for the federal government wrote in an opening brief.

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