President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he said would prevent future changes to the historic Oval Office and Cabinet Room, both of which he has decorated with gold accents during his second term.
“So we’re making it a national monument, and 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 said. “We like the Oval Office, and it’s a symbol like the White House itself.”
But the legal force of the proclamation was unclear, and future presidents would have the authority overturn it. Since his party suffered massive election losses on Tuesday, Trump has focused his public appearances on renovation projects, including a Wednesday tour of the White House ballroom construction site with reporters.
Trump did leave the door open to future presidents removing his gold decorations. A future president “can do whatever he wants” with the accents, so long as he’s “careful,” Trump told reporters.
The Oval Office was constructed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The White House is already designated a National Historic Landmark, a federally conferred status intended to protect historic properties. But Congress exempted the White House from the National Historic Preservation Act, allowing presidents — including Trump — to swiftly remake parts of the building when they assume office.
“The discussion of making it a landmark is legally meaningless,” Greg Werkheiser, founding partner of Cultural Heritage Partners, a law firm focused on historical preservation, told The Washington Post last month.
Werkheiser also questioned why Trump was invoking historical preservation after disregarding such concerns in tearing down the White House’s East Wing, paving over the Rose Garden and making other changes to the historic property.
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