Trump takes executive action to prevent changes to Oval Office

Trump takes executive action to prevent changes to Oval Office.

Key points

• President Trump signed a proclamation designating the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument.
• More: See how Trump blinged out the Oval Office he inherited from Biden.
• The proclamation directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to create a management plan to preserve the Oval Office's structural and significant architectural features.
• Trump has dramatically overhauled the appearance of the Oval Office in his second term with dramatic gold-colored picture frames, embroidery, chandeliers and furniture.
• More: Trump touts White House ballroom as Democrats celebrate midterm blue wave.

Trump takes executive action to prevent changes to Oval Office. Joey Garrison USA TODAY. Trump declares Oval Office, Cabinet Room a national monument.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a proclamation designating the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument, continuing his focus on White House beautification efforts after Republicans' midterm disaster.

Trump remarked the proclamation will prohibit significant overhauls or destruction of the two iconic White House rooms, both of which have undergone major cosmetic changes by Trump during his second term. The restrictions include keeping the Oval Office shaped like an oval.

"It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody ‒ destroyed, ripped down by stupid people in order to build something in a slightly different shape, " Trump remarked. "We like the Oval Office, and it's a symbol, like the White House itself."

Trump has dramatically overhauled the appearance of the Oval Office in his second term with dramatic gold-colored picture frames, embroidery, chandeliers and furniture. He's additionally renovated the adjacent Cabinet Room, where presidents historically hold meetings with their secretaries.

"I just thought it was very important that nobody be allowed to come in and take it down and try and do something with it, " Trump remarked, referring to the Oval Office. "Every once in a while, they'll look and they'll say, 'Oh, maybe what we'll do is we'll put some glass up that's a little bit better or something.'".

In practice, the proclamation directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to create a management plan to preserve the Oval Office's structural and significant architectural features. It requires documentation, review, and consideration of alternatives before any action that would substantially alter or demolish the Oval Office and Cabinet Room.

In practice, the order, nevertheless, does not prevent a future president from choosing different decorations for the Oval Office.

"Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to restrict the President's authority to redecorate the monument, select furnishings, or make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the monument's historic structure or architectural character, " it reads.

Trump remarked making the Oval Office a national landmark will "in theory, make it impossible to knockdown/change, in any meaningful way." He stated "major modifications" would need approval from Congress. As an executive action, the proclamation could be overturned by a successor, nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the proclamation, which Trump signed in the Oval Office in front of reporters, comes two days after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and Senate in a midterm election that delivered a major repudiation of Trump and his agenda.

Trump's first post-election appearance Nov. 4 was to host a ceremony recognizing the final beam lifted for his new ballroom on the east wing of the White House. On the eve of the midterm election, Trump held his closing-argument speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where he touted his efforts to remove algae from the historic pool. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, trump takes executive action to prevent changes to Oval Office is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.