Washington– Secrecy surrounding White House security makes details difficult to come by, but President Donald Trump’s court battle over his $400 million ballroom is shedding some light on an underground bunker at the site that once played a role in history.
The bunker came to light in the Trump administration’s legal battle against the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is challenging the 90,000-square-foot (8,400 square metre) ballroom project. A Federal Court of Appeal Last week the president was allowed to continue construction of the project at the site of the former East Wing, which was It was demolished last fall.
This ruling suspended a lower court judge’s order preventing above-ground construction, but made an exception for work to ensure the safety and security of the White House. The Republican administration’s appeal cited materials that would be installed to create a “heavily fortified” facility, including adding shelters, military facilities and a medical facility below the ballroom.
The bunker beneath the East Wing dates back to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, when an underground bomb shelter was installed in 1942 after the United States entered World War II. Beyond that, details are being withheld due to secrecy resulting from concerns about presidential safety.
The Presidential Emergency Operations Center under the East Wing was always intended for short-term use, said Garrett Graf, a national security historian and author.
“The whole point of this kind of presidential evacuation and presidential continuation is that you want to get the president out of the place where everyone knows he is and get him into a place where people don’t know where he is,” Graf said.
Among the most notable flights to an underground bunker in the White House relates to the attacks of September 11, 2001, when Vice President Dick Cheney was flown there.
A Secret Service agent stormed into the West Wing room, Cheney grabbed From the belt and shoulder and took him to a hideout under the White House. “He didn’t say, ‘Are we going?'” Cheney told NBC News years later. “He wasn’t polite about it.”
Recently, Trump was taken to a bunker in the White House In 2020 amid protests resulting from the death of George Floyd. At the time, chants from Lafayette Park protesters could be heard in the building, and Secret Service and law enforcement officers struggled to control the crowds.
Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service, wrote in court documents that it was important for the ballroom project to move forward with security at the White House.
“An above-ground slab and superstructure are needed to ensure that major underground structures with security purposes are properly protected and reinforced,” Quinn wrote.
He added: “Leaving the project site incomplete jeopardizes the Secret Service’s ability to carry out its lawful mission to protect the president.”
Last month, Trump presented a list of what is being done to enhance security during the construction of the hall.
“The roof is drone-proof. We have safe air handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air if you have bad people,” the president said. “We have biodefense everywhere. We have secure communications and communication everywhere. We have shelters that we are building. We have a hospital and very large medical facilities that we are building.”
The president took to social media Criticism of the lower court ruling The underground portion wouldn’t work without the aboveground facility as well, he said.
National Trust for Historic Preservation He said Trump exceeded his authority By moving forward with the project without approval from key federal agencies and Congress.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon Ruling in favor of the nonprofit group At the end of March, but he briefly postponed his decision while allowing underground work to continue. The administration appealed.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hold a hearing on June 5 to review the case.
Taxpayer money will cover the security aspects of the project, although Trump has said the hall’s costs will be covered by donations from wealthy people and corporations. He said it’s a long-awaited addition to the White House complex.
“The underground part is connected to and serves the upper part,” the president said in a post on social media.
What that means in practice is unclear and depends in part on the outcome of the litigation.