WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation declaring the Oval Office, the Outer Oval Office and the Cabinet Room a national monument, setting new preservation requirements for major changes to the historic White House spaces.
The White House document, signed on Thursday, November 5, is a proclamation under the Antiquities Act, not an executive order.
It designates the Oval Office, Rooms 106 and 108 of the Outer Oval Office, and the Cabinet Room as the Oval Office National Monument.
Trump said the move was intended to prevent a future administration from substantially altering or demolishing the rooms.
“We’re making it a national monument, and it will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people,” Trump told reporters.
What the proclamation protects
The proclamation directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to develop a management plan that protects the monument’s historic character and architectural integrity.
It also requires documentation, review and consideration of alternatives before action is taken that would substantially alter or demolish the rooms or their essential architectural features.
However, the proclamation does not freeze the current appearance of the Oval Office. Its text explicitly preserves a president’s authority to redecorate, select furnishings and make ordinary operational or security modifications that do not substantially impair the rooms’ historic structure or character.
That means future presidents would still be able to remove or change Trump’s gold décor, furnishings, portraits and other interior design choices.
Since returning to office, Trump has added gold wall appliqués, gold-framed portraits, chandeliers in the Cabinet Room and a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence to the Oval Office.
East Wing ballroom remains controversial
The proclamation comes against the backdrop of Trump’s controversial White House ballroom project, which required the demolition of the East Wing in late 2025.
The planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom has faced a legal challenge from preservationists, who argued that the project went ahead without specific approval from Congress.
A federal appeals court temporarily halted above-ground construction in August, but the US Supreme Court later allowed the work to continue while the legal dispute proceeded. The Supreme Court ruling was based on the challengers’ legal standing and did not amount to congressional approval of the project.
The White House proclamation also states that it does not diminish Congress’ authority over federal property.
Trump has described the ballroom as a major expansion of White House hosting capacity, while critics have questioned both the demolition of the East Wing and the process used to authorise the project.
