White House commission approves new visitor screening facility
The National Capital Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve building plans for a new White House Visitor Screening Facility. The project, part of President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the White House grounds, has bipartisan support and has drawn little pushback compared to other construction plans. The facility will be built off 15th Street in Sherman Park, with an entrance that leads below ground for screening and allows visitors to exit by the East Wing of the White House, the site of the president’s more controversial ballroom project.
Commission chairman Mark Paoletta said Thursday that the building will be constructed on the White House grounds. Urban planner Lee Webb presented the final plans, which include a versatile indoor open‑floor‑plan space that will allow the Secret Service to install permanent screening technology and provide significant indoor queuing for large events, with a 700‑person occupancy within the screening facility. Visitors to the White House are now screened in temporary, double‑wide trailers and tents, which the Secret Service has said fall short of its security needs. The plans were approved by all members of the commission, which includes representatives appointed by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Construction work is expected to begin in the next month and finish at some point in 2028. Representing the General Services Administration on the board, Trump appointee Paul Ingrassia hailed the addition of the new facility as “an incredible part of this White House reimagining we’ve been seeing.” That includes the massive 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom that’s being constructed at the site of the former East Wing. The commission approved the plans for the ballroom in April. At Thursday’s hearing, one of the presenters said the exit of the new facility will have Corinthian columns to align with the ballroom’s language. The president has been highly involved in renovations at the White House, which have included gold adornments in the Oval Office and the installation of a helipad on the White House lawn, as well as other projects around Washington, like the proposed construction of a “Triumphal Arch.”
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