WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday naming the Oval Office and the Roosevelt Cabinet Room national landmarks, making them “landmarks for the ages.”
It was the third day in a row the president talked about his renovation projections, following his speech at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool on Tuesday and his tour of the new ballroom on Wednesday.
His new order means the two rooms — the historic office of the president and the main meeting room in the West Wing — cannot be changed without an act of Congress.
“There’s no major modification without the approval of Congress. So if they want to say let’s not have the Oval anymore, let’s make it square, what happens is they have to go back to Congress,” Trump explained.
However, the next president can redecorate, removing Trump’s gold trim and numerous paintings, if that person wishes.
“They can do anything they want, as long as they do it carefully,” he said when asked if his successor could remove the glitz he added around the room.
Trump claimed last month that the Secret Service told him they wanted to tear down the Oval Office and rebuild a more secure room for the president to work out of. “My a–, you can’t build a new one,” he said in describing his response.
With his new order, the two rooms “won’t be able to be taken down, destroyed, touched, or anything else.”
“It’s a federal landmark. And when completed, and when we get the documentation fully done, legally binding, it’ll make it impossible for anybody ever to destroy this incredible space,” Trump said.
