What’s the news about an underground void development under the United States?
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Executive summary
Former HUD official Catherine Austin Fitts has publicly claimed that the U.S. secretly diverted about $21 trillion between 1998 and 2015 to build roughly 170 underground and undersea bunkers — an underground “city” for elites to survive a “near‑extinction” event — a claim repeated across multiple outlets but presented without documentary proof in her interview [1] [2]. Reporting makes clear the allegation rests largely on a 2017 paper by economist Mark Skidmore that flagged unexplained “unauthorized spending,” but that original report did not identify bunkers as the destination of the funds [1] [3].
1. Explosion of the claim: who said what and where
The story originates from Catherine Austin Fitts, a former Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who asserted on Tucker Carlson’s podcast that $21 trillion was siphoned into constructing a secret network of roughly 170 underground and undersea facilities and connecting transit infrastructure for the powerful [1] [3]. Major and regional outlets — including The Independent, India Today, NDTV and others — picked up and amplified the allegation in May 2025, generally citing Fitts’ podcast remarks as their source [2] [1] [4].
2. The evidentiary thread: Skidmore’s 2017 report and what it actually says
Fitts repeatedly points to a 2017 analysis by Michigan State economist Mark Skidmore that reported about $21 trillion in “unauthorized spending” across certain federal accounts between 1998 and 2015. That paper raised questions about financial controls and transparency in some defense- and HUD‑related ledgers, which Fitts says prompted her to search for where the money went [1] [3]. Available reporting emphasises that the Skidmore work identified accounting anomalies — not physical bunkers — and did not document construction projects or link transactions to underground facilities [1] [3].
3. What reporters and analysts say: skepticism and gaps
News coverage that relays Fitts’ assertion typically notes a lack of concrete, independently verifiable evidence tying the missing funds to subterranean construction. Several outlets underline that while there are known underground military complexes (for example, historic sites like Cheyenne Mountain), Fitts’ broader $21 trillion/bunker network claim remains unverified and has drawn scepticism [4] [3]. Reports note Fitts offered no procurement records, contracts, or site documentation in the interviews cited [1] [3].
4. Motives, narratives and how the claim fits existing conspiracy ecosystems
Journalists point out that Fitts has previously promoted controversial theories; in this reporting she also cited speculative purposes for the facilities — refuge for elites and even support for a “secret space program” — claims that fit patterns common to grand-conspiracy narratives and that make independent corroboration more urgent [4] [5]. Outlets that repeated the story varied in editorial framing: some presented it as an explosive allegation needing proof, others foregrounded the dramatic language and lacked counter-evidence [2] [6].
5. What is verifiable and what is not found in current reporting
Verifiable: Fitts made the $21 trillion/170‑bunker claim publicly on Tucker Carlson’s podcast; the Skidmore 2017 paper flagged unexplained entries described as “unauthorized spending” in federal accounts for 1998–2015 [1] [3]. Not found in current reporting: definitive documentation — audited contracts, construction budgets, site manifests, or government confirmations — showing that $21 trillion funded construction of underground cities or 170 bunkers [1] [3].
6. Broader context: real underground projects and new, unrelated underground developments
The U.S. has historical underground military installations and legitimate subterranean projects (reported context in coverage), but these are documented and far smaller in scale than the claims Fitts describes [4]. Separately, reporting in late 2025 shows private companies and startups exploring deep underground projects such as proposals for mile‑deep reactors — evidence that large underground engineering projects exist in different contexts, yet are unrelated to the specific $21 trillion/bunker allegation [7] [8].
7. Bottom line for readers
The claim that the U.S. spent $21 trillion building a secret underground “city” rests on a contested interpretation of accounting anomalies and on Fitts’ own investigative assertions; mainstream reporting reproducing the allegation underscores the lack of direct evidence tying the missing sums to construction of bunkers [1] [3]. Independent, verifiable documentation connecting government expenditures to the alleged network is not present in the cited coverage; readers should treat the claim as unproven and recognize it sits at the intersection of genuine fiscal‑transparency concerns and speculative conspiracy framing [1] [4].
Limitations: this analysis uses the provided reporting only and does not include later documents, classified records, or sources beyond the set you supplied.