WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he says will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, throwing up a potential barrier to future presidents who might want to restyle the iconic office that Trump has gradually filled with gold flourishes.
The proclamation was Trump's first official action after his party was swept aside in midterm elections on Tuesday. Sitting on the Resolute Desk as he signed the document was a red baseball cap with "VETO" on the front, a not-so-subtle nod to the shifting of powers in Washington. But when he gathered reporters, it was to talk about his effort to keep the Oval Office as it is.
Trump said the proclamation will make the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument and that major modifications would require approval from Congress. But proclamations themselves can be reversed, as Trump has done to roll back national monuments.
“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,” Trump said. “We like the Oval Office, and it's a symbol, like the White House itself.”
It was the third day this week that the president, a real estate mogul, delivered remarks fixated on his pet projects in Washington. On Wednesday, a day after Republicans suffered defeats in key races across the country, Trump gathered reporters to sign the final beam being raised during construction of his opulent ballroom project. On Monday, he went to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to talk about his renovation of the landmark.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has overseen numerous design changes to various rooms, including the Oval Office, where he has filled the wall space with portraits, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and numerous golden accents.
Trump did not elaborate on precisely what he was hoping to prevent but suggested that the Oval Office might face some threat in the future. Trump himself has faced several lawsuits alleging that his Washington beautification projects were done without the necessary approval.
“If anybody ever decides to come and start knocking down walls, you call me wherever I may be," Trump said, "and I’ll come back here and I’ll make sure it never happens."
His effort to preserve changes at the White House comes as Democrats gear up for new scrutiny of Trump. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a flurry of letters Thursday to known donors to Trump’s ballroom, demanding that they provide information or face “alternative measures to obtain compliance.”
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