A White House official has explained why the demolition of the East Wing started before getting the required approval. The reason involves highly classified underground work that couldn’t wait.
Joshua Fisher, the White House director of management and administration, was asked about the unusual decision to begin tearing down the historic structure without approval from the National Capital Planning Commission. He said the secret work happening underground was the main reason for breaking normal rules.
Fisher explained that the project, which includes President Donald Trump’s new ballroom above ground, will improve “mission critical functionality” and provide “resilient, adaptive infrastructure aligned with future mission needs.” According to CNN, he admitted that “some things regarding this project that are, frankly, of top-secret nature that we are currently working on.” This classified work needed immediate attention, even though it wasn’t part of the commission’s review.
The White House emphasized the urgency in a court filing for a case trying to stop the construction. The administration argued that halting the underground work would “endanger national security and therefore impair the public interest.” The specific reasons are in a classified document attached to the case.
The underground security upgrades are driven by national security concerns
Secret underground facilities at the White House aren’t new. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a bomb shelter built after the Pearl Harbor attack. Historian Bill Seale noted that “no public acknowledgment was made of there being a bomb shelter under construction, only the East Wing.”
Over 80 years, that shelter became the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC. This bunker was built to survive major attacks, including nuclear explosions. It had a large vault-style door, beds, food, water, and secure communications. The emphasis on advanced security infrastructure reflects Trump’s broader strategic approach to national defense.
The PEOC was used during major emergencies. Vice President Dick Cheney was moved there moments before the Pentagon was hit on September 11, 2001. It was also used to plan former President Joe Biden’s secret trip to Ukraine.
However, the facility was very outdated. One source called it “a very complicated submarine that was built in the 1940s,” with “all the infrastructure is 1940s infrastructure.” The communications were also poor. Cheney complained on 9/11 that “The comms in this place are terrible.”
The demolition that started in October removed the old underground facility, the East Colonnade, and office space. Sources believe all underground structures, including the PEOC and utilities, have been completely torn down.
The replacement will handle modern threats that didn’t exist when the original was built. Jonathan Wackrow, a former US Secret Service agent, said the new facility will protect against chemical or biological weapons, electromagnetic pulses, and other dangers.
He stressed, “You have to think about a facility that can be built in secret, highly classified, that can sustain the current and future state threat environment.” These upgrades address concerns about Trump facing technological and scientific challenges in modernizing critical infrastructure.
While Trump has secured private donors for the $400 million ballroom above ground, taxpayers will pay for the underground security upgrades. Wackrow said the true cost will never be known because it requires special, non-commercial technology. He noted, “We’re never going to get the line of sight on how much that costs.”
Published: Jan 20, 2026 12:42 pm