Trump declares Oval Office a national monument

Trump signs Oval Office monument order

President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation declaring the Oval Office and Cabinet Room national monuments, his first official action after Republicans suffered defeats in midterm elections on Tuesday.

The proclamation has limits

The order does not prevent future presidents from restyling the Oval Office or rolling back the proclamation itself. Trump himself has reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.

Trump's expansive vision

Trump said the Oval Office will not be allowed to be touched, destroyed or ripped down by stupid people to build something in a slightly different shape, calling it a symbol like the White House…

“It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape.”

What the proclamation actually allows

The proclamation permits the president to redecorate, select furnishings and make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the monument's historic structure or architectural character.

Trump's recent White House changes

Since returning to the White House, Trump has overseen numerous design changes including filling the Oval Office walls with portraits, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and numerous golden accents and gold-framed portraits.

Democrats demand answers on ballroom project

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters Thursday to known donors to Trump's ballroom demanding information or facing alternative measures to obtain compliance.

Triumphal arch gets final approval

Late Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission voted eight to four to greenlight Trump's two hundred fifty foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery after almost nine hours of public comments.