Press reports revealed the existence of a highly fortified secret bunker under the White House, at a time when the administration of US President Donald Trump is engaged in a legal battle over a new ballroom project, the construction of which is justified by considerations related to national security.

According to the American newspaper The Washington Post, the White House complex already includes a secret, highly fortified underground facility capable of protecting the president and his senior aides even from a nuclear attack, which raises questions about the security justifications on which the Trump administration is relying to build a new complex at a cost of $600 million.

The newspaper quoted three former officials as saying that the facility was built more than a decade ago, and work on it was completed secretly during the administration of former President Barack Obama, and is located at a depth of more than 18 meters under the White House complex.

The bunker is capable of holding dozens of people for several weeks, and was designed to withstand a nuclear explosion and provide a secure command center for the president and his team during major crises, two of the officials said.

The disclosure of this facility puts the Trump administration in front of a dilemma in the legal dispute related to the new ballroom project, as the administration says that completing the project is necessary for reasons related to national security and ensuring the continuation of the government’s work during crises.

The White House defended the project, stressing that modernizing the East Wing is linked to the president’s security, the White House complex and its security infrastructure, and that it will provide improvements that include facilities to protect against drones.

A federal judge and an appeals court had ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of the hall until the project received Congressional approval, while allowing work related to national security needs to continue, including the military complex planned to be built below the hall.

On Friday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order allowing the administration to continue working on the project temporarily, while the court considers an emergency appeal filed by the administration.

The Trump administration says the project will enhance the protection of the President’s Residence in the face of increasing threats, including drones, and that the new facility will help ensure the government continues to function in the event of an attack on Washington.

Officials told the Supreme Court in August that construction work was approximately 65% ​​complete, and that about 250 workers were working 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, to speed up the completion of the project, which includes 5 underground floors.

But former officials have confirmed that the existing bunker was built specifically to protect the president from a wide range of threats, including weapons of mass destruction, and that it includes a number of protective measures that the administration cites to justify the new project.

The Washington Post indicated that the means of protecting presidents in the White House evolved with the increasing threats, after the White House bunker was limited, for decades, to a small facility in the basement of the East Wing, built during World War II to protect President Franklin Roosevelt in emergency situations.

The site is known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, and it is where the Secret Service transferred Vice President Dick Cheney and First Lady Laura Bush during the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Those attacks prompted the White House to begin work on a more fortified facility. According to journalist Ronald Kessler, the facility was completed during the Obama administration and was equipped with a months-long supply of food, along with an independent ventilation system.

Former officials said the current facility is located deep within Washington’s rock layers, accessible by a private elevator, and was specifically designed to protect the president from a wide range of threats, including an attack with weapons of mass destruction.

They added that the facility’s specifications already include a slew of safety measures that the White House cites to justify building the new complex below the ballroom.