Trump Signs Proclamation Declaring the Oval Office, Outer Oval Office and Cabinet Room a National Monument, Fox News Reports
Fox News says the president signed the order Thursday to keep future administrations from changing the three rooms. He told reporters it would be impossible for anyone to destroy the space. It is the latest in a run of post-election building announcements.
President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to lock in the look of three of the White House's best-known rooms, Fox News reports.
What it does. Fox says the proclamation, signed Thursday, designates the Oval Office, the Outer Oval Office and the Cabinet Room as a national monument and federal landmark. The stated aim is to preserve the spaces and stop later administrations from altering them.
What he said. Trump told reporters from the Oval Office: "It won't be able to be taken down, destroyed, touched or anything else." He added, "It's actually called a national monument. It's a federal landmark. When completed … it'll make it impossible for anybody ever to destroy this incredible space."
The timing. The announcement came two days after Democrats won enough seats to take control of Congress. Fox calls it part of a series of post-election appearances about White House construction. On Monday Trump described planned updates in front of the Reflecting Pool, and on Wednesday he held a press briefing at the ballroom construction site. Fox also notes that the Supreme Court recently gave the ballroom project another lifeline amid a heated legal fight.
The wider list. Since returning to office in 2025, Fox says, Trump has pushed several large architectural and cultural projects. They include the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch and plans to rename and restructure the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Why it matters here. We reported that a federal panel approved the arch. This order extends the same effort to the interior of the White House, and it comes as a Democratic House takes office in January.
What we could not check. We did not see the text of the proclamation. Fox does not say what legal authority it rests on or how it would bind a future president, and we cannot say. Fox says it asked the White House for comment, and its report carries no reply.