Trump Signs Proclamation Designating Oval Office and Cabinet Room as Protected National Monument

President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation in the Oval Office that he said will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room, both of which he has redesigned since returning to the White House. Trump told reporters the rooms are being made a national monument that "will not be allowed to be touched by anybody." He said no major modification could be made without approval from Congress, and that anyone wanting to change the Oval Office's shape would have to go back to Congress. He also said a future president could redecorate, including removing his gold trim and paintings, if done carefully. He said last month the Secret Service had wanted to tear down and rebuild the Oval Office, which he rejected. The White House already holds National Historic Landmark status, and it was not immediately clear what added protection the order gives. The signing came two days after voters handed Democrats control of Congress, and was the third straight day Trump spoke about his projects, after the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the new ballroom.

The New York Post and Townhall, on the right, lead with the designation. The Post calls it an executive order making the rooms "landmarks for the ages," quotes Trump at length, including his Secret Service anecdote and his claim that a successor may redecorate, and says the gilded remodel's fate is unsettled. Townhall's headline calls it a national landmark, then spends most of its text on Trump's remarks on Iran and a possible Russia-Ukraine deal, noting the ballroom and helipad. The Los Angeles Times, on the left, frames the signing around politics, linking it to Republican losses in the midterm vote and describing a president fixated on pet projects and opulent decor. Both sides carry Trump's "touched by anybody" line and the Congress-approval point. Newsweek and The Hill largely echo the facts, though Newsweek stresses doubts about the legal effect under the Antiquities Act.