Trump issues proclamation declaring Oval Office national monument

What the report says

US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday designating the Oval Office, the adjacent Cabinet Room and the Outer Oval Office as a national monument, according to Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. He signed the document from behind his desk in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, and said the move was meant to protect the spaces from major alterations.

The proclamation says the goal is to preserve the rooms’ historic character, architectural integrity and connection to the presidency. It places the monument under Interior Department management through the National Park Service and calls for documentation and review before any action that would substantially alter or demolish the space. At the same time, the order does not block a future president from changing the decor, furnishings or overall style of the office.

The signing came after Trump’s party suffered broad election losses this week, and Al Jazeera said it was his first formal action since those results. The article also framed it as part of a broader push by Trump to remake the White House and other landmarks through high-profile renovation projects.

Those efforts, which have drawn criticism from Democrats and preservation-minded opponents, include the planned White House ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden and other visible alterations to the complex. More generally, presidents can use proclamations to designate monuments, and successors can later revise or отменять them through new executive action.