{"id":7437,"date":"2026-07-14T18:06:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:06:03","slug":"trumps-helicopter-flights-to-resume-from-ellipse-breaking-south-lawn-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Preparations have begun for installing a landing zone in the Ellipse. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump is set to resume his helicopter departures from Washington as soon as Wednesday \u2014 but by using the Ellipse, a park south of the projects that have rendered the White House lawn unusable, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration plans.<\/p>

Read more E. Jean Carroll gets $5.6 million from Trump verdict, court records show<\/a><\/p>\n

Supplies began accumulating on the Ellipse last week, including temporary ground protection and fenced-off container boxes, according to the people and photos reviewed by The Washington Post. The administration also installed anti-climb fencing around the Ellipse this week, to deter intruders, and the Secret Service is preparing to further secure the site on Wednesday, the people said.<\/p>\n

Trump is expected to use his motorcade to make the quarter-mile trip from the White House to the Ellipse, they said. That would represent a significant change compared with past presidents\u2019 traditional practice of walking out of the White House to board Marine One on the nearby South Lawn. Trump\u2019s use of a motorcade to travel to or from the Ellipse is also likely to snarl traffic on streets near the White House.<\/p>\n

The White House and the Secret Service did not immediately respond to questions about the plan.<\/p>\n

The Ellipse is part of President\u2019s Park, which is managed by the National Park Service and has been traditionally open to the public, but it has been largely fenced off during Trump\u2019s presidency. Administration officials have said the park has been mostly closed to the public for security reasons and renovation work.<\/p>\n

White House officials have also said they are reviewing security protocols after repeated threats to Trump, including a shooting at the White House correspondents\u2019 dinner in April.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s local projects, including his overhaul of Lafayette Square<\/a> on the north side of the White House, rapid renovation of the Lincoln Memorial\u2019s Reflecting Pool<\/a> and use of the National Mall for events<\/a> related to America\u2019s 250th anniversary, have complicated access to parks and monuments.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s last Marine One departure from the White House\u2019s South Lawn was on May 12. The White House subsequently closed the lawn as workers set up a UFC cage match<\/a>, organized by Trump, last month.<\/p>

Read more Trump plans prime-time speech on 2020 election allegations<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of the lawn remains closed as contractors build a new permanent helipad<\/a> that Trump wants to finish by mid-September<\/a>, before Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s expected visit the following week, The Post previously reported. Officials have said that a permanent helipad outside the White House is necessary because the new generation of Marine One helicopters runs the risk<\/a> of scorching the White House grass.<\/p>\n

Trump, an avid user of helicopters before he entered politics, also has characterized a White House helipad as an overdue upgrade after nearly 70 years of helicopters landing in the grass of the South Lawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, they\u2019re landing in the mud all the time,\u201d Trump said Monday on \u201cThe Hugh Hewitt Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of the construction, the president has been taken by motorcade to local destinations \u2014 such as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center<\/a> and Joint Base Andrews \u2014 where he has routinely flown.<\/p>\n

Some current and former officials have said that the present lack of helicopter access to transport the president has created a security risk by complicating plans to evacuate him quickly from the White House if necessary. The White House previously declined to comment on the security risks associated with pausing Marine One helicopter flights.<\/p>\n

Ray L\u2019Heureux, a retired Marine Corps colonel who previously oversaw the Marine Helicopter Squadron One, told The Post in May that using the Ellipse for helicopter departures instead of the South Lawn would create other problems, including a likely requirement for the Secret Service to assemble a motorcade each time the president needs to fly.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Heureux reaffirmed that on Tuesday, but added in a text message that it likely could be a truncated motorcade. It will have several requirements, he said, including an ambulance.<\/p>

Read more SafeSport hired ex-police officer whose actions led to a $24M civil verdict against her department<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The park south of the White House will become a temporary landing zone for the president\u2019s Marine One flights, which have been on hold for two months from construction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The park south of the White House will become a temporary landing zone for the president\u2019s Marine One flights, which have been on hold for two months from construction.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bb8239bb3cbac0760aae403bb93b6e03-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437\"},\"wordCount\":721,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7437#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"The park south of the White House will become a temporary landing zone for the president\u2019s Marine One flights, which have been on hold for two months from construction.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bb8239bb3cbac0760aae403bb93b6e03-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition","datePublished":"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437"},"wordCount":721,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437","name":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-14T18:06:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a1651bdac68326dd1609ac30ba90d25f-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7437#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump\u2019s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}