On November 12, 2013, the White House responded to the allegations. Laura Lucas Magnuson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said, "Displaying the rug for only half a day in connection with a private book launch event, as proposed, would have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government property, would have required the White House to undertake the risk of transporting the rug for limited public exposure, and was not viewed as commensurate with the rug's historical significance".[12] The White House also said that the decision to keep the rug in storage "does not preclude" the possibility that it might be displayed sometime in the future.[2][13]