US President Donald Trump has signed a document designating the White House’s Oval Office and Cabinet Room as national monuments, potentially limiting major changes to the historic spaces without congressional approval.
Trump signed the document on Thursday, formalising the move as he continues to reshape the Oval Office since returning to the White House.
The president has introduced numerous decorative changes to the historic room, including gold accents, statuettes, portraits of prominent Americans taken out of storage and a copy of the Declaration of Independence displayed on the wall.
Asked whether future presidents would still be able to make changes to the rooms, Trump said major modifications would require approval from Congress.
“No major modification without the approval of Congress,” he told reporters.
He illustrated the restrictions by suggesting that even a proposal to change the Oval Office’s traditional shape would have to go through Congress.
“So if they want to say, ‘Let’s not have Oval anymore, let’s make it square’, what happens is they have to go back to Congress,” Trump said.
He added that he hoped lawmakers would be “smart enough” to prevent such a change.
