A demolition crew takes apart the facade of the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump bulldozed the East Wing of the White House during the government shutdown, raising questions about whether he was also altering the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), CNN reported Monday.
The PEOC was built during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Trump is replacing the East Wing with a massive ballroom while updating the PEOC.
According to 2020 reports, Trump went to the bunker during the Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. He later said he had visited the bunker two or three times during his first term, quoted The Sun.
A noteworthy use of the bunker happened on Sept. 11, 2001, when then–Vice President Dick Cheney and other Cabinet officials were rushed there for protection. Other presidents have used it for secret meetings, including Richard Nixon, who viewed a “parody film” there that his administration deemed pornographic and wanted suppressed. President Joe Biden’s team used the facility to plan his clandestine trip to Ukraine, CNN noted.
The report described the PEOC as operating like a “submarine," in that it is fully self‑sufficient, has backup power, water, and air filtration, and is designed to survive a major attack or even a nuclear strike on Washington.
When demolition of the East Wing began in October 2025, the PEOC was also torn out. One source told CNN there is a “high degree of confidence” that all previous subterranean structures are now gone, but emphasized that other redundant systems exist to protect the president. Removed elements include ventilation and underground facilities for the White House Military Office and the Secret Service Uniformed Division; a second source said, “all of that seems to be gone.”
Trump initially cited $200 million for the new ballroom, a figure that has since ballooned to $400 million. That amount does not include the underground work. Trump has said the ballroom will be funded by private donors, but any new subterranean security infrastructure will ultimately be paid for by U.S. taxpayers, the report said.
The administration argues that halting construction would “endanger national security,” prompting questions about whether Trump is doing much more than a standard renovation.
Jonathan Wackrow, a former US Secret Service agent and CNN contributor, told the reporter that Americans will likely never know how much is being done five stories below the White House.
“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. We’re never going to get the line of sight on how much that costs,” Wackrow said.