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Nuclear bunker already sits under the White House

August 24, 2026

Three former officials say a nuclear-blast-resistant bunker built more than a decade ago lies beneath the White House, cutting against the ballroom case.

The Daily Beast reports that three former officials describe a heavily protected nuclear bunker already built deep beneath the White House complex, finished more than a decade ago. Two of those officials place it more than 60 feet down, say it was completed during the Obama administration, and say it can hold dozens of people for weeks. The same two describe it as built to survive a nuclear blast, giving a president and his aides a secure command center in a crisis. The Washington Post carries the event under the same account, and the former officials quoted spoke to the Post.

The legal stake is direct. According to the former officials, an existing modern military bunker undermines the administration's argument that the ballroom, which carries an underground bunker of its own, must be built for national security. Both outlets place that argument in a live case: Trump, 80, won a Supreme Court order last week when Chief Justice John Roberts allowed construction to proceed while the court weighs whether to halt the project. After the ruling Trump posted on Truth Social that the ballroom is “so vital for National Security.” A court filing last week also shows the ballroom was built with material used in nuclear power plants, making it “virtually impossible to deconstruct.”

The two outlets agree on framing as well as fact: as the case has moved through the courts, Trump's language has shifted toward national security and away from the ballroom itself. He told reporters last Wednesday that the project will include a “bomb shelter” and a “drone port” on the roof, and recounted the military approaching him before work began. A White House spokesman, Ingle, ties the project to security needs after a foiled attack at the White House. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. What is settled is the description of the existing bunker and the state of the litigation; what the record does not carry is any administration answer to the former officials' account.

Still developing

The White House has not responded to a request for comment on the former officials' description of the existing bunker. The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether to halt the project, and the record does not say how the existing facility bears on that case.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 100% · Contested 0% · Developing 0%

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