U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 19, 2025. REUTERS Ken Cedeno
Thus far, President Donald Trump's Commission of Fine Arts has been a rubber stamp for whatever he demands. Now, however, they disagree on something.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the commission's president has a different idea for the massive fence that has closed off a larger area around the White House than past presidents.
Trump fired all of the members of the Commission of Fine Arts to staff it with his own people. Still, the chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., thinks he has a better option for the president's safety fears.
An ongoing problem during President Barack Obama's administration was the so-called "fence jumpers," individuals who would hop the tall fence around the White House and try to get inside. The closest one got was to the door on the north side. The decision was to erect another fence that was "roughly double the height of the existing one and have a new concrete foundation—a response to the recent rash of “jumpers” and intruders who have tried to break into the 18-acre compound at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," The Architects Newspaper reported in 2016.
“We would like to be able to ultimately rebuild the fence as it stands right now. This is an immediate need,” said Tom Dougherty, who was the chief strategy officer for the Secret Service at the time.
Construction began before the Joe Biden administration and was finalized in 2023. After Trump came in, a new fence expanding the perimeter around the White House was erected. On the north side of the White House, outside of the existing fence, is a sidewalk where tourists often gather to take photos. What was once a road, now blocked off, is where protesters generally stage demonstrations. North of that is Lafayette Square, named after the French general who was a key aide to France's aid in America's Revolutionary War. That square is surrounded by grass, park benches, and lined with historic 19th-century mansions, including the Dolly Madison House.
Currently, there is a massive, black, chain-link fence one block north of the White House, along with concrete barriers. One tourist posted on the local D.C. subreddit asking why she couldn't see the White House from anywhere anymore.
The White House, the Department of the Interior, and the Secret Service want to block it off with additional fences that would be eight to nine feet tall.
Cook said he understands the administration's security concerns; however, "they disagreed with elements of the proposal, suggesting that the fences could be redesigned and recommending changes to the layout," said the report.
He's couching the clash as a “marvelous opportunity” instead of a disagreement, though. Currently, if a vehicle must move through the area or the president decides to step outside the fence, bike racks are in place, with Secret Service or police standing behind them. The Jan. 6 attack proved that a violent mob can overcome both of those obstacles, however.
In 2020, when there was a protest north of Lafayette Square, in what became known as "Black Lives Matter Plaza," the first Trump administration became so fearful of the protesters that they raced him to the presidential bunker. Trump was furious after the report leaked to the public because he thought it made him look weak, Business Insider reported at the time. It was the first time a president had used the bunker since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Trump is now renovating and expanding that bunker, adding a ballroom on top of it.
Cook said the commission would likely approve the request for the large permanent fencing, but he had some edits.
“Make it simpler for yourselves and for the nation,” Cook said.
Officials said Thursday they appreciated the feedback and would take it into consideration.
When the idea was first proposed, Washington's non-voting member of Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), blasted it because it would make the "people's house" inaccessible to the people themselves.
“More fencing around the President’s Park would send the wrong message to the nation and the world by continuing to transform our democracy from one that is accessible and of the people to one that is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens,” Norton said in a statement at the time.