Trump moves to stop future presidents changing his Oval Office - Newsweek

President Trump signed a proclamation Thursday that he said would prevent future presidents from making major changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, both of which he has extensively redesigned since returning to the White House.

“We’re making it a national monument, and it will not be allowed to be touched by anybody,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has extensively redecorated the Oval Office, filling the room with portraits, gold accents and drapes and a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

The White House already has National Historic Landmark status, raising questions about what additional legal protections Trump’s proclamation provides.

Under the Antiquities Act, presidents can designate historic landmarks, structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest on federally controlled land as national monuments. The law provides for the protection and management of those designated objects, but it is not immediately clear whether Trump’s proclamation could prevent a future president from redecorating or otherwise altering the Oval Office and Cabinet Room.

Asked whether future changes could be made to the rooms, Trump said any significant alterations would require congressional approval. “No major modification without the approval of Congress,” he told reporters.

"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, and hopefully the Congress... will ⁠be ​smart enough not to ​let that happen."

The move comes two days after Republicans suffered sweeping losses in the midterm elections, handing Democrats control of Congress. It also follows several days in which Trump has focused publicly on his Washington building and renovation projects, including his new ballroom and changes involving the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Last week, former President Barack Obama mocked Trump's White House renovations during a campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio. The Democrat compared the White House's gold-heavy decor to a Cheesecake Factory opened by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The remarks prompted a response from Trump, with the White House leader defending the renovations and calling Obama a "lousy president."

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for additional details on what features of the two rooms the proclamation protects and whether future presidents would be permitted to change furnishings, artwork and other décor.

This is a breaking news article. Updates to follow.