Trump Declares Oval Office and Cabinet Room a National Monument

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation creating the Oval Office National Monument, covering the Oval Office, the Outer Oval Office and the Cabinet Room, according to the White House text and reporting by Fox News, CNN, the Associated Press and USA Today.

The order, issued under the Antiquities Act two days after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections, directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the National Park Service to manage the rooms to protect their historic character and architectural integrity. Trump signed the document in the Oval Office in front of reporters, Fox News and USA Today reported.

What the proclamation covers

The White House proclamation defines the monument as the Oval Office itself (Room 110), the Outer Oval Office (Rooms 106 and 108) and the Cabinet Room (Room 105). It requires documentation, review and consideration of alternatives before any action that would substantially alter or demolish the monument or its essential architectural elements, and it calls for a management plan developed with the White House Office of Administration and other agencies.

Trump told reporters the designation would make it impossible for anyone to destroy the space and said the administration would send the document to Congress for ratification, CNN and Fox News reported. He described the Oval Office and Cabinet Room as landmarks “for the ages.”

Redecorating and later reversals

The proclamation expressly says it does not restrict a president’s authority to redecorate the rooms, choose furnishings or make ordinary operational and security changes that do not substantially impair the historic structure. USA Today and the Associated Press reported that a future president could still restyle the office and could reverse the monument designation itself; Trump has previously reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.

The signing was Trump’s third public event of the week tied to White House and Washington construction projects, including a ballroom under construction and a planned Memorial Circle arch, CNN and Fox News reported. The White House and its grounds are already a National Historic Landmark administered as part of President’s Park.

Sources: The White House, Fox News, CNN, Associated Press, USA Today