North Carolina Representative Tim Moore has posted a video showing a secret tunnel underneath the US Capitol. The tunnel has its entrance from the Lincoln room, which used to be the House’s post office during former president Abraham Lincoln’s time in office, according to a report in The New York Post.
Sharing the video on the social media platform X, the Republican leader wrote, “Come with me to see one of the hidden secrets of the Capitol!”
He added, “The Lincoln Room is one of my favourite spots to bring visitors – when President Lincoln was serving in the House, he sat by the fireplace in this room to read his letters, but the most interesting part of the room is underneath the floorboards.”
Come with me to see one of the hidden secrets of the Capitol!
The Lincoln Room is one of my favorite spots to bring visitors — when President Lincoln was serving in the House, he sat by the fireplace in this room to read his letters, but the most interesting part of the room is… pic.twitter.com/hp36jfQrk4
— Congressman Tim Moore (@RepTimMooreNC) May 9, 2025
He said, “You can see there’s a passageway. These were old stairs that used to be here but were closed off. Believe it or not, my big self [has] actually gotten down and more importantly, out of this hole,” he added.
Mr Moore said the secret room’s construction started in the 1700s, adding the Capitol still had all sorts of little hidden passageways.
Talking about the tunnel, he said, “I’m told, and I can’t verify this … it’s one of the staircases British soldiers used when they breached the Capitol during … 1814 when they actually attacked Washington.”
Footage of the Lincoln Room’s secret staircase showed signatures, most likely from legislators and other people who wished to add their names to the historic passage.
Mr Moore said the secret tunnel takes you out of the US Capitol. When the Capitol building was first constructed, the House of Representatives met in Statuary Hall, which is now a gallery featuring statues of famous Americans and is adjacent to the Lincoln Room.
President George Washington placed the foundation stone for the Capitol Building in 1793. However, it got completed only in 1826 because it was set on fire in 1814 by the British soldiers during the War of 1812.
