Secret Service, military involved in ballroom plan
By: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump said in a January 25 [2026] Truth Social post that a presentational group's lawsuit against the construction of the $400 million ballroom had exposed a "Top Secret fact" about the involvement of the U.S. military and Secret Service on several aspects of the project, including design.
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In December, [2025] the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against Trump and several federal agencies aimed at halting the construction saying it had not gone through a review precess, had not completed an adequate environmental assessment or sought congressional authorization.
..... Trump disputed the allegations, saying "a president has never needed permission to change or enhance, because of the special grounds on which it sits, no matter how big (and important!), that enhancement may be."
..... "Additionally, in this instance, it is being done with the design, consent, and approval of the highest levels of the United States Military and Secret Service. The mere brining of this ridiculous lawsuit has already, unfortunately, exposed this heretofore Top Secret fact," he wrote.
..... The East Wing, beneath which an underground-bomb shelter had been located since the 1940s amid concerns during World War II that the White House could become a target for an aerial attack, was demolished in October [2025] to make way for the ballroom. the underground bomb shelter was installed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt beneath the east Wing, according to the White House historical society.
..... "This secret space featured thick concrete walls and steel-sheathed ceilings with a small presidential bedroom and bath inside. Nearby rooms provided ventilation masks, food storage, and WHHS noted in a Facebook post. "The space is far more modern today. Known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center {PEOC), it can become a commend center for the president as needed."
..... A hearing on the lawsuit was held by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, DC, on January 22. [2026] During the hearing, Leon raised double whether Trump had statutory power to tear down the East Wing with plans to build a ballroom in its place without approval or oversight from Congress, according to Reuters.
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Leon snapped, "Come on, be serious" after a lawyer for the administration drew parallels to the erection of a pool during the Ford administration in the 1970s and other smaller renovations, Reuters reported.
..... In court filings by the trump administration in response to the lawsuit, Matthew Quinn, the deputy director of United States Secret Service, said that unless the work is completed, the Secret Service's ability to protect the president, first family and the White House complex would be "hampered."
..... The Trump administration has maintained that the national Capital Planning Commission, which provides building and zoning advice to Washington, DC, and approves various federal construction plans, does not heave jurisdiction over demolitions, only construction. NCPC is currently reviewing the construction of the proejct.
..... The 90,000-square-foot ballroom proejct has a price tag of $400 million and is expected to accommodate about 1,000 people, an increase from earlier plans that cost 4200 million and would seat 650 people.