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Ballroom vs. bunker
President Donald Trump has argued that a massive new White House ballroom is needed to provide him and future presidents with a secure, hardened facility, but former officials say that argument fails because the presidential complex already has one.
“former officials say the argument fails to acknowledge that the presidential complex already has one”
The Washington Post reports that former officials said the presidential complex already includes a secret room that undermines Trump’s legal position in the lawsuit filed by the National Preservation Fund.
El Correo says Trump’s reasons for the ballroom have evolved from ceremonies to security, describing the ballroom as part of a security web with a drone defense shield and an emergency bunker to protect executive branch members.
El Correo adds that the bunker it describes is nearly twenty meters deep, accessed by a private elevator, has its own air supply, and can accommodate dozens of people for months.
Legal fight and appeals
El Correo says the revelations come amid the legal battle sparked by the National Preservation Fund lawsuit, and it describes how both a Washington judge and the appellate court leaned in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered Trump to halt construction for lacking congressional approval.
El Correo also says the works have continued while Trump filed appeals and that, according to the White House, the project is 65% complete.
It further states that the project is about $600 million and that workers are on site 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Washington Post frames the dispute as Trump’s claim that the White House needs a massive new ballroom, while former officials say the argument fails because the presidential complex already has one.
Who is affected next
El Correo says the bunker is intended to protect executive branch members and is part of a security complex for the president, his cabinet, executive power members, and companions.
“prepared to withstand a nuclear explosion”
It adds that the bunker is prepared to withstand a nuclear explosion and that it is accessed by a private elevator with its own air supply.
El Correo says the need for a bunker emerged after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when only the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) existed.
The Washington Post indicates that everything is in the hands of the Supreme Court, and for now it says what it has decided is that the works should continue while the merits of the case are being considered.