Views of the White House from Lafayette Square could soon be limited for good, as the Trump administration advances a security plan that would place a tall permanent fence around one of Washington, D.C.’s most recognizable and historically significant public parks.
The proposal, scheduled to go before the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday, outlines a black metal barrier measuring roughly eight to 10 feet high surrounding the full eight-acre park, which sits directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
If built, the new Lafayette Square security fence would replace the mix of temporary fencing, bicycle racks, bollards and other protective measures that have been used at various times around the presidential complex.
According to The Washington Post, the plan also features large gates at the park’s key entry points, giving authorities the ability to shut down access to Lafayette Square whenever security concerns call for it.
The commission’s review was focused on the fence’s design and placement, rather than serving as a final green light for construction to begin.
The push came as Trump has faced an unprecedented series of threats to his personal security, including three assassination attempts.
He was targeted twice during the 2024 presidential campaign, including the July shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a separate alleged assassination attempt at his Florida golf course in September.
The Trump administration is calling for a black metal fence standing between eight and 10 feet high around the entire eight-acre park directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House
The proposal comes as Lafayette Square had already spent nearly eight months behind fencing
In July, Secret Service officials argued that permanent security infrastructure could make it easier to secure the park than repeatedly installing temporary barriers during major security events
In April, a gunman opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, while Trump was present.
And security concerns were heightened again in May when Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.
Trump has since supported beefing up security around the White House and himself.
Asked about his support for the Secret Service’s security projects, Trump said last month: “It’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do.”
The White House has argued that the changes are necessary to strengthen security around the 18-acre White House complex while improving the appearance and functionality of the surrounding area.
“The White House and the Secret Service are always looking for ways to improve the security apparatus of the White House Complex,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Post, adding that Trump was “uniquely positioned” to advance the area toward a “21st century security posture.”
Secret Service spokesman Nathan Herring similarly said the proposed fencing and a planned White House visitors center would “enhance security” while maintaining public access.
The proposal came as Lafayette Square had already spent nearly eight months behind fencing.
The park was closed in January for an America 250 renovation project that the National Park Service originally expected to finish by May 31.
Yet by September, the fencing remained despite the renovation work reportedly having been completed weeks earlier, according to The Washington Post.
In July, Secret Service officials argued that permanent security infrastructure could make it easier to secure the park than repeatedly installing temporary barriers during major security events.
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The administration has also argued that the permanent gates would allow Lafayette Square to remain open under normal circumstances while giving officials the ability to quickly shut it down if a security threat emerged.
But critics have warned that making the infrastructure permanent could make it easier for the government to restrict access to a park that has long served as one of Washington’s most prominent locations for protests and demonstrations.
The current proposal was the latest chapter in a debate that has resurfaced repeatedly over whether the park should remain an open public gathering place or become part of the White House’s permanent security perimeter.
The idea of permanently fencing Lafayette Square was discussed during Trump’s first administration, particularly after protesters flooded the area during the George Floyd demonstrations in May and June 2020.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the White House following Floyd’s death, and temporary fencing and concrete barriers were erected around Lafayette Square as tensions escalated.
On June 1, federal law enforcement cleared protesters from the park shortly before Trump walked across the area to St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Trump had also been briefly taken to a secure underground bunker beneath the White House as protesters gathered outside the complex.
A tall fence went up around the northern edge of Lafayette Square the following day, with additional fencing and concrete barriers soon blocking access to the park and other nearby public spaces.
The park remained fenced for much of the following year before reopening in May 2021.
The history of fencing the park goes back much further.
Lafayette Square was enclosed by a wooden fence as early as 1826, followed by an iron fence in 1853.
That iron fence was removed in 1888 and 1889 and sent to Gettysburg for use at the national cemetery.
The Clinton administration later faced its own debate over White House security following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
President Bill Clinton closed Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicular traffic in front of the White House but deliberately kept it open to pedestrians.
“It should be seen as a responsible security step necessary to preserve our freedom, not part of a long-term restriction of our freedom,” Clinton said at the time.
Past administrations also considered more extensive fencing around the White House and Lafayette Square but ultimately resisted making the park’s security perimeter permanent because of concerns over public access.
The Obama administration, for example, moved to increase the height of the White House fence after a man scaled the existing barrier and entered the White House grounds. A 13-foot-high fence was ultimately installed during Trump’s first administration.
Now, more than a century after Lafayette Square’s last permanent perimeter fencing, Trump’s administration is once again proposing to enclose the entire park.
For preservationists, historians and civil liberties advocates, the question is no longer simply how to protect the president.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Cultural Landscape Foundation and Washington residents are expected to speak against the fencing proposal at Thursday’s National Capital Planning Commission meeting, warning that the changes could permanently alter both the historic landscape and the public’s ability to gather directly across from the White House.