ISTANBUL

The US president has authorized the covert construction of a secure underground facility beneath the White House, accompanied by a new extension to the East Wing, CNN reported Monday.

In 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which triggered the US entry into World War II, then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt secretly built a White House bomb shelter, publicly presenting only the East Wing extension, according to the White House.

Over 80 years later, the East Wing is under renovation for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, with the old underground facilities removed, and plans to rebuild the bunker shrouded in secrecy.

Sources told CNN the underground area is likely being upgraded with advanced technology to meet evolving security threats, though details remain classified.

The bunker has historically hosted critical operations, including the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, the planning of former President Joe Biden’s covert trip to Ukraine, and sheltering Vice President Dick Cheney just before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

At a recent National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) meeting, White House official Joshua Fisher said the new ballroom will improve functionality, strengthen security, and provide adaptable infrastructure for future needs.

Fisher said some aspects of the project are “top secret,” noting that while this doesn’t prevent changes to the above-ground structure, the secret underground work had to be accounted for, work that was not part of the planning commission process.

Additionally, in a court filing last week, the White House defended the East Wing construction, arguing that stopping the underground work would “endanger national security and therefore impair the public interest,” citing a “classified declaration” explaining the reasoning.