President Donald Trump revealed a major national security dimension to his White House ballroom project, disclosing aboard Air Force One on Sunday that the U.S. military is constructing a massive underground complex beneath the new structure.
While showcasing architectural renderings during the flight from Mar-a-Lago, Trump described the 90,000-square-foot ballroom as a “shed” for the ongoing subterranean work.
“The military is building a massive complex under the ballroom, and that’s under construction, and we’re doing very well, so we’re ahead of schedule,” Trump said, adding, “… the ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing.”
It was a dramatic pivot for a project that The Dallas Express has tracked since its earliest days.
When photos of the East Wing demolition first went viral last October, some critics quickly criticized Trump’s plan, and Treasury employees with views or sightlines of the work were warned not to share photographs, with a spokesperson citing potential exposure of “sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details.” At the time, that warning seemed like standard operational caution.
The new update suggests Trump is entirely rebuilding a major section of the East Wing that used to house the Presidential Emergency Operations Center – the secure underground bunker that President George W. Bush used on 9/11 and that Trump himself went to during the George Floyd protests in 2020.
Trump acknowledged that the military dimension of the project had been intended to stay under wraps, saying information about the plan had come out “because of a stupid lawsuit.” However, he had foreshadowed the military involvement in the ballroom project as far back as January 25, posting on his Truth Social account that it was being built while “working closely with, right from the beginning, the United States Military and Secret Service,” and warning that the lawsuit had “unfortunately, exposed this heretofore Top Secret fact.”
“Stoppage of construction, at this late date, when so much has already been ordered and done, would be devastating to the White House, our Country, and all concerned,” the President added at the time.
The security features of the ballroom itself have also reportedly been significantly enhanced. Trump said the structure will now feature bulletproof glass throughout and drone-proof roofing and ceilings.
“Everything is drone-proof and bulletproof, and unfortunately, we’re living in an age where that’s a good thing,” Trump said.
Not One Dime Of Government Money
On the question of cost and funding, Trump has been emphatic.
“All of the money paid is paid by myself and donors… it’s all donors,” Trump said. “There’s not one dime of government money going into the ballroom.”
The roughly $400 million proposal received unanimous 6–0 approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in February.
The legal battles surrounding the new ballroom, however, may be far from over. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit – aimed at pausing the project until Congress signs off and independent reviews are completed – is still pending before a federal judge.
Judge Richard Leon has described the East Wing demolition as “brazen” and even indicated he may block the project, per CourtHouse News, with a potential ruling expected by the end of March or early April.
Separately, the National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to take a final vote this week on the ballroom.
Trump said he raised the ballroom topic while airborne this past weekend because he’s busy “fighting wars and other things” – higher priorities over a project he nonetheless describes as destined to be “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”
Above-ground construction is now expected to begin as early as April, with completion targeted well before the end of Trump’s term in 2028.