U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to renovating the White House on Thursday by signing an executive order designating the Oval Office as a national monument, despite the Republican Party’s major midterm losses.
Leading up to Tuesday’s elections, critics accused Trump of ignoring voter concerns regarding economic affordability and the war in Iran to focus instead on various construction and restoration projects across Washington, D.C.
The day after Democrats secured majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Trump largely brushed aside the election results to highlight progress on his new White House ballroom project.
Trump turned his attention to the adjacent Cabinet Room and the Oval Office, both of which he has adorned with gold embellishments since returning to office last year.
He stated that the executive order would prohibit future presidents from altering either room, asserting that the measure would make it impossible for anyone to damage the historic spaces.
Trump told reporters that, “It won’t be able to be taken down, destroyed, touched, or anything else. It’s called actually a national monument.”
The action reignited speculation that Trump might be planning additional modifications to the West Wing, following multiple hints that he could relocate reporters out of the nearby White House press briefing room.
Major U.S. networks did not broadcast the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, as the administration had excluded CNN from the rotating media pool that covers White House events.
Trump made a single gesture toward the midterm election results, placing a red baseball cap embroidered with the word “VETO” on the Resolute Desk directly in front of him.
Backstory…
President Donald Trump’s decision to protect the Oval Office from major alterations by future administrations comes amid controversy over his extensive renovations of the White House since returning to office in January 2025.
Trump has introduced gold decorations, portraits and chandeliers to the Oval Office, paved over the Rose Garden and demolished the East Wing to make way for a proposed ballroom.
The Oval Office has served as the principal working office of US presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration in the 1930s.
Although the White House already holds National Historic Landmark status, Trump argued that the Oval Office and adjoining Cabinet Room deserved specific protection because of their historical significance.
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