US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order which, he says, will prevent future presidents from making certain changes to the White House Oval Office.
This is reported by the BBC.
Trump, a former property magnate, has significantly changed the look of the president’s official office during his second term — including adding many gold-coloured elements.
“We are giving it national monument status; no one will be allowed to touch it, destroy it or tear it down — as foolish people might do in order to build something of a slightly different shape,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.
The order comes a few months after Trump initiated the complete demolition of the White House’s East Wing.
The project has received approval from the US Congress but has run into legal obstacles. Construction work is continuing nonetheless. Under the plans, the space is to be turned into a new ballroom.
At present, US presidents have the authority to make certain changes to the White House, but large-scale projects require Congress’s permission.
The Oval Office Becomes a National Monument
The executive order signed by Trump on Thursday grants national monument status to the Oval Office, as well as to some adjoining rooms.
The document also states that it does not “limit the president’s authority to update the monument’s interior, choose furnishings, or make ordinary changes related to operations and security that do not cause significant harm to the monument’s historic fabric or architectural character”.
Trump said the White House and the Oval Office had needed repairs even before he made his changes. According to him, the rooms were in a “severely damaged” condition. The president cited, among other things, broken windows, cracks in the walls and damaged stone elements.
However, many of the most visible changes were purely cosmetic: a large gold plaque reading “Oval Office” appeared near the entrance, the Rose Garden was paved over, and a new helicopter landing pad was also installed.
Trump said the order “will make it impossible for anyone in the future to destroy this incredible space”.