Oval Office Gains Monument Status
Trump signs proclamation after midterm losses, but the text allows future presidents to redecorate.
By Lucas Navarro ·
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday designating the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room as a national monument. This is his first official action since his party lost key races in Tuesday's midterm elections. The move places the rooms under the management of the Interior Department.
The new rule requires the Interior secretary to manage the space. It also demands documentation and a review of alternatives before any action that would substantially alter or demolish the structure. However, the text explicitly states that the order does not restrict a president's authority to redecorate, select furnishings, or make ordinary operational changes.
Trump has spent this week focusing on his Washington projects. On Monday, he visited the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to discuss renovations. On Wednesday, he signed the final beam for his new ballroom. The Oval Office proclamation followed these events on Thursday.
The president described the office as a symbol like the White House itself. He said it would not be allowed to be touched, destroyed, or ripped down by stupid people to build something in a slightly different shape. Trump noted that he has previously reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.
Although the proclamation text does not require congressional review for major changes, Trump said he expects Congress to weigh in. He suggested that if a future leader wants to change the shape of the room, they would need to go back to Congress. He described a red baseball cap with the word VETO on the front, which sat on the Resolute Desk during the signing.
Democrats are already moving to scrutinize Trump's spending. Senator Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters to known donors for the ballroom project on Thursday. He demanded information from them or threatened alternative measures to obtain compliance.
Trump has overseen numerous design changes since returning to office. These include gold wall appliqués, gold-framed portraits, and a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office. He also installed new chandeliers in the Cabinet Room to address what he called very bad lighting.
