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Trump says Oval Office to become national monument

By Thomson Reuters Nov 5, 2026 | 3:29 PM

Nov 5 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a document ​to make the ‌White House’s Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument.

Since returning to office, Trump has ‌transformed ​the historic ⁠Oval Office with ⁠gold accents and statuettes, portraits of famous Americans pulled from storage and a ​copy of the Declaration of Independence that ⁠hangs on ⁠the wall.

Asked whether any ​changes could be made ​if needed going forward, Trump ‌told reporters: “No major modification without the approval of Congress.”

“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.”

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Costas Pitas; Editing by ​Caitlin Webber)