Trump Administration Seeks Permanent Underground Visitor Screening Facility Near Sherman Park on White House Grounds

Project would shift security processing below grade as campus construction plans advance

The Trump administration is pursuing plans for a permanent White House visitor screening facility, proposing an underground center beneath Sherman Park on the east side of the White House complex. The concept would replace a long-used arrangement of temporary, trailer-like screening structures and formalize how tourists and invited guests enter the secure perimeter.

Planning materials describe a 33,000-square-foot facility designed to process visitors through seven screening lanes. The project is framed as a capacity and circulation upgrade intended to reduce wait times and reorganize where lines form, following recent changes to the White House grounds and visitor entry patterns.

Location and design

The proposed site is Sherman Park, located southeast of the White House and directly south of the Treasury Building. Design documents indicate the screening entrance and queuing plaza would be positioned below grade in the park’s southern quadrant, a configuration described as limiting visual impact while allowing public use of the park during periods of heavy visitor volume.

Plans also indicate the statue of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman—centered in the park—would remain in place. The proposal is presented as a multi-agency effort involving the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Secret Service, and the National Park Service, which manages President’s Park.

What changes for visitors

Under the proposed circulation plan, guests and public tour groups would enter the complex through the sub-grade screening facility on the western side of Sherman Park, then exit screening onto East Executive Avenue near Hamilton Place before proceeding to an East Portico entry point. The goal is to consolidate screening operations in a permanent structure and reduce the footprint of surface-level queuing during large events.

• Seven security screening lanes are planned to increase throughput.
• Queuing would shift below grade to limit disruption to park use.
• Visitor discharge would be routed to East Executive Avenue for onward access.

Timeline and federal review

The proposal is scheduled for consideration by the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal body that reviews certain construction projects on federal land in Washington. The commission is expected to discuss the visitor screening facility as part of an agenda that also includes related White House campus projects.

Planning materials indicate construction could begin as early as August, with the administration targeting operations by July 2028. The screening facility proposal is part of a broader set of changes to the White House grounds that have altered how visitors and event attendees are processed and routed, and it would establish a permanent checkpoint intended to serve day-to-day tours as well as higher-volume official functions.

The plan centers on moving visitor processing into a permanent, sub-grade facility while keeping the park’s above-ground layout largely intact.