Federal panel gives final approval to new design for White House security screening center

A federal panel has approved final design and building plans for an underground facility to screen visitors to the White House, the latest advancement in the Trump administration's efforts to amp up security while also reshaping the aesthetics of the complex.

The National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday advanced the proposal for the screening facility, which the administration has said would be an improvement over temporary structures long used for security, such as tents and bicycle racks fashioned into barriers. The White House wants it open by July 2028, six months before President Donald Trump would finish out his second term.

The administration says the permanent facility, which it wants open by July 2028, will replace a series of temporary tents that have been used for years, improve security on the White House complex and enhance the experience for visitors.

The project — a collaboration of the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Secret Service and the National Park Service, which manages the White House grounds — comes as security for Trump is a top concern. He has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including two during the 2024 campaign and a third this past April as he attended a Washington dinner with White House journalists.

Those concerns were heightened in May after U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.

The 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) facility, which will provide security screening for public tour participants, guests attending large events, staff and contractors going to the White House, would be built beneath Sherman Park, located southeast of the White House and directly south of the Treasury building.

The park had long been the place where White House tourists and guests lined up for security checks before clearing a series of trailer-like structures and walking to the East Wing entrance.

After Trump tore down the East Wing last fall to build a ballroom, visitors have been lining up near Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. An architect for the screening facility said Thursday that some of the design had been tweaked to match elements of the massive White House ballroom currently under construction where the East Wing used to stand.

The panel, which has oversight over the design of construction on federal land in Washington, granted initial approval for the facility's revised design earlier this year. Commission member Evan Cash suggested a tour of the site, to which other members agreed.

Part of that tour, members said, could include the White House ballroom site, where construction has been allowed to continue as lawsuits over it play out, under a ruling a month ago by a divided Supreme Court.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

A U.S. Secret Service officer walks past a section of anti-scaling fencing near the White House, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Construction continues on a new White House ballroom complex replacing the former East Wing, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Marine One lands approaches the south lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump boards for a trip to Texas and Oklahoma, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Jaime Dimon, center, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on his phone as the stopped at a Secret Service Check Point at the White House Complex as he arrives for State Dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for China's President Xi Jinping, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. Secret Service Police stand near a car that sits parked on a sidewalk near the White House after the driver was arrested, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

BOSTON (AP) — The judge in the Lindsay Clancy murder case on Thursday refused to declare her not guilty, turning down a defense motion that had argued there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was responsible for killing her three children.

On Tuesday, Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington tried to persuade Judge William Sullivan that prosecutors had not offered any proof that Clancy had killed her three children. Prosecutors argued there was plenty of evidence, calling Reddington’s claim “laughable.”

In his ruling, Sullivan said prosecutors had provided adequate evidence for a jury to decide whether Clancy was the person responsible for the killings.

“There was evidence introduced, both physical and circumstantial, that would permit a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder," Sullivan wrote.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

During that trial, Reddington didn’t dispute that Clancy killed the children at the family’s home in 2023. Instead, the defense sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.

Spokespeople for both Reddington and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said they had no comment on the ruling.

Prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had mental health problems that included months of treatment and a stay in a psychiatric hospital, but argued that she knew what she was doing when she strangled the children then tried to kill herself.

Clancy's first trial ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury. A judge declared a mistrial with the jury split 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Clancy of murder charges.

Defendant Lindsay Clancy and attorney Kevin Reddington listen to the commonwealth respond to Reddington's motion for dismissal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, during a hearing set to determine the next steps after a mistrial was declared on Sept. 4th, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Lindsay Clancy's father Michael Musgrove listens to the motions hearing in his daughter's triple murder trial, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

FILE - Lindsay Clancy, listens to testimony from a hospital chaplain during her murder trial, Aug. 20, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool, File)

FILE - Lindsay Clancy, center, speaks with her lawyer Kevin Reddington during proceedings in her murder trial, Aug. 20, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, Pool, File)