“As it happens, I can't tell you more about this, but the military is making some improvements to their facilities here at the White House, and I can't reveal any more details on that,” Leavitt said at a news conference.
On Sunday, Trump said that the US military is building a “huge complex” under the ballroom that is being built on the White House grounds.
He added that the ballroom will serve as a shield for the facility beneath it. He noted that the ballroom under construction will be resistant to drone attacks and its windows will be bulletproof. The cost of the facility under construction is estimated at $400 million.
CNN reported in January that while working on the new ballroom, the president is probably also rebuilding the bunker. The plans are shrouded in mystery.
Changes in the White House. The details are shrouded in mystery
Last year, the East Wing of the White House, which was the historic home of the first lady and her staff, was demolished. It was created in 1902 during the government of Theodore Roosevelt, and took on a new form in 1942 by the decision of Franklin Roosevelt, who wanted to obtain additional working space during the war and to hide the underground bunker built for the president and his staff.
Currently, construction of a new east wing is underway, which, according to Trump's plan, will house a ballroom. According to CNN, during the demolition of the wing, underground facilities were also demolished.
The station noted that there is not much public information about construction work taking place in what was once a secret bunker.
A source familiar with the matter maintains that the facility is most likely being designed anew and will be equipped with modern technology to respond to contemporary threats. One of the sources emphasized that the facility's infrastructure was from the 1940s.
The underground facility built by Roosevelt served as a bomb shelter, but not only that. It housed, among others, The Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which was fortified to withstand a potential nuclear explosion or other major attack.
The bunker contained beds, long-life food, water and other supplies, and a safe means of communicating with the outside world, said a source who was inside the bunker.
