The Trump administration is proposing to build a 33,000-square-foot security screening facility for visitors to the White House, the latest major change to the grounds overseen by President Trump.
In documents filed with the National Capital Planning Commission, administration officials described the facility, which would be partially underground, as a needed upgrade to the temporary trailers and tents the Secret Service uses to screen visitors for large events. The entrance would be located at Sherman Park, adjacent to the White House.
In its plan, the administration said it had taken a number of steps to make the proposed screening center less conspicuous and promised to beautify the area as the facility is built.
“Most of the proposed structure is intentionally positioned below grade within the park’s west quadrant to reduce visual impact and to avoid a large existing sewer tunnel that sweeps through the southeast corner of the park,” the plan states. “Landscape restoration, including new tree plantings, will be provided within all impacted zones to reinstate and enhance the park’s character.”
The proposed screening center is the latest change Mr. Trump has proposed for the White House campus, which he is rapidly remaking.
He has already paved over grass in the Rose Garden to add a patio. The president now calls it the “Rose Garden Club,” where he entertains political allies and business elites, playing the role of a D.J., selecting the music.
Mr. Trump has added gold moldings and decorations throughout the Oval Office, and gold ornaments to the Cabinet Room. He added marble floors and a chandelier to the Palm Room.
He has removed a photo of Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, and replaced it with an image of his own face colored with the American flag. Along the West Wing colonnade, he added gold-framed photos of every president except his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr., whom he depicted as an autopen.
But the most dramatic change was the sudden demolition of the East Wing, the historic home of the offices of the first lady. In its place, Mr. Trump is proposing a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
The National Capital Planning Commission is expected to vote to approve the ballroom next month, at the same meeting where it first hears plans for the screening center.
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
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