The nuclear bunker beneath the White House’s East Wing was demolished as part of renovation work ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, CNN reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the project.
According to the report, the underground facility was taken apart during demolition work carried out to make way for a massive new ballroom planned for the White House. The East Wing, which historically housed the first lady’s offices, was completely razed as part of the renovations.
A source with knowledge of the matter told CNN that the intention is to rebuild the bunker using advanced, modern technologies. The White House declined to comment on the report.
Trump, a billionaire and former real estate developer, has worked since returning to the White House about a year ago to reshape the historic presidential residence in his image and leave a lasting mark. After more limited projects such as repaving the Rose Garden and installing large flagpoles on the White House lawn, his administration launched the far more ambitious ballroom project in October. The planned hall is expected to be even larger than the main White House building.
According to the report, the demolition extended below ground, including the bunker built more than 80 years ago during World War II on the orders of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The facility’s official name is the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC.
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U.S. President George W. Bush during a Cabinet meeting in an underground bunker at the White House after 9/11
“With a high degree of confidence, I can say that all of the subterranean structures, including the PEOC, heating and ventilation systems, and underground facilities used by the White House Military Office and the Secret Service, appear to no longer exist,” one source told CNN.
The report said the removal of the old bunker does not raise concerns about presidential security. Sources stressed that multiple alternative measures are in place to ensure the president’s safety in emergencies. CNN noted that plans for a replacement bunker are being handled with extreme secrecy, though Trump and senior officials have hinted publicly at a highly classified project underway beneath the White House.
During a recent meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, White House Director of Management and Administration Joshua Fisher was asked why the administration demolished the East Wing without prior approval, an unprecedented move. Fisher suggested that the reason involved “top-secret” underground work.
“There are some aspects of this project that are of a top-secret nature and are currently underway,” he said. The White House made similar arguments in a court filing defending the construction, warning that halting the underground work would endanger national security.
The bunker was originally built in the early 1940s as a bomb shelter following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Over the decades, it evolved into a hardened command and control center designed to withstand a nuclear strike. Sources described it as a self-contained facility with its own power, water and air filtration systems, as well as secure communications and an emergency escape route.
The bunker has been used during major crises, including the September 11, 2001, terror attack, when then-Vice President Dick Cheney was evacuated there moments before a hijacked plane struck the Pentagon. Trump was also reported to have been taken to the facility during unrest following the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
While the cost of the new underground facility remains unknown, CNN noted that it is expected to be substantial. Trump has said the ballroom project, estimated at about $400 million, will be funded through private donations, but any underground security infrastructure would ultimately be paid for by U.S. taxpayers.