Underground White House visitor screening center moves to planning panel
The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to take up two new pieces of President Donald Trump’s Washington makeover on Thursday — a proposed fence around Lafayette Park and an underground security screening center for White House visitors — according to the Associated Press. Votes are not expected at the meeting.
The planning commission approved Trump’s White House ballroom proposal this spring after Trump razed the Executive Mansion’s East Wing without prior authorization.
The agenda marks the first time the planning commission will take up either the fence or the visitor center. Both proposals were reviewed earlier by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate panel whose seven members were all appointed by Trump. The fine arts commission approved the visitor screening center plans at its July meeting and heard a presentation on the Lafayette Square fencing but took no action.
The fencing carries the most potential for controversy and opposition at Thursday’s meeting, according to the AP. The Commission of Fine Arts heard the fencing presentation in July but deferred action.
Neither the planning commission nor the fine arts commission has been an obstacle to Trump’s plans for the capital so far, the AP reported.
As MSI previously reported in July, the administration proposed fencing off Lafayette Park to restrict public access when law enforcement determines it is necessary, alongside an underground facility to screen White House visitors. The proposals now advance from the Commission of Fine Arts to the National Capital Planning Commission for a separate federal review.