Trump says secret military project being built under White House ballroom

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Mar 30, 2026

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President Donald Trump says the military is building a secret, secure project under his controversial $400 million White House ballroom.

Defending the opulent project against persistent criticism, Trump suggested the Pentagon was a driving force behind plans to construct an underground bunker of sorts beneath his sprawling new East Wing ballroom.

“The ballroom has actually become the shed for what’s being built by the military, including from drones and from any other thing,” Trump told reporters.

“We have all bulletproof glass. We have drone-proof roofs, ceilings, everything’s drone-proof and bulletproof,” Trump added. “Unfortunately, we’re living in an age where that’s a good thing.”

The revelations appear to confirm a January report by CNN that the military planned to build a “secure underground facility” under the massive new ballroom to replace the East Wing that Trump ordered demolished.

Trump showed a mock-up of the planned ballroom to reporters as he jetted back to Washington, D.C., from his Palm Beach, Florida, waterfront resort home.

He didn’t disclose any more details about the military involvement, and the Pentagon hasn’t commented on the reports.

Trump was irked by press reports that the ballroom has avoided almost all scrutiny from oversight groups that typically put even minor White House renovations under the microscope. Critics say it is far too big and includes fake windows and grandiose stairs that appear to lead to nowhere.

He says the ballroom is being bankrolled by private investors, but the amounts they have pledged have not been disclosed.

Trump insists the project is on time and under budget, but he originally said it would cost $200 million but now admits the price tag has ballooned to $400 million.

He originally said the project would only involve renovating the existing East Wing but then ordered the complete demolition of the existing structure.

Preservationists are suing to block the project, but halting it seems like a long shot after Trump purged critics from oversight groups and replaced them with loyalists who have rubber-stamped his plans.

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