President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on November 5, 2026, declaring the Oval Office a national monument under the Antiquities Act and placing the room plus three adjacent spaces under National Park Service management, The White House reported.
The designation, named the Oval Office National Monument, covers the Oval Office itself (Room 110), the Outer Oval Office (Rooms 106 and 108), and the Cabinet Room (Room 105).
The room has served as the president’s principal working office since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, and its distinctive oval shape dates to 1909, when President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing, according to the White House Historical Association.
JUST IN: President Trump signs order to make the White House Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument to prevent any changes to those rooms from the way he redesigned them once he leaves office: "We're making it a national monument and it will not be allowed to be touched…”
What the Monument Designation Covers
The proclamation sets the monument boundaries as the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the historic objects. It directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to manage the site in a manner that protects its historic character, architectural integrity, and association with the presidency.
New Review Process for Changes
The Secretary must develop and implement a management plan in consultation with the White House Office of Administration and other executive departments. Any action that would substantially alter or demolish the monument or its essential architectural elements now requires documentation, review, and consideration of alternatives. Proposed changes must be evaluated for consistency with the site’s national significance, and the Secretary must coordinate with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.
Presidential Decorating Powers Unchanged
The proclamation explicitly preserves the president’s authority to redecorate the monument, select furnishings, and make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the historic structure. It also leaves intact existing statutory exemptions for the White House under the National Historic Preservation Act and does not diminish Congress’s authority over federal property.
The 1909 Design That Shaped the Room
The current Oval Office emerged in 1909 when Taft hired architect Nathan C. Wyeth to design a larger, oval-shaped office in the center of the West Wing’s southern wall, replacing Theodore Roosevelt’s smaller rectangular room, the White House Historical Association reported. Wyeth sought to convey grandeur and elegance befitting the presidency, writing that he had “endeavored to show a dignified treatment in keeping with the high purpose it is to serve.” He drew inspiration from other oval rooms in the Executive Mansion, including the Blue Room, the Yellow Oval Room, and the Diplomatic Reception Room.
Before the West Wing existed, presidents worked elsewhere in the Residence. Thomas Jefferson used the State Dining Room, while Abraham Lincoln and most nineteenth-century presidents preferred a Second Floor room now called the Lincoln Bedroom, according to the White House Historical Association.
Questions About the Designation
Which specific rooms does the national monument designation cover?
The proclamation includes the Oval Office (Room 110), the Outer Oval Office (Rooms 106 and 108), and the Cabinet Room (Room 105), according to The White House.
Can the president still change the Oval Office decor under the new rules?
Yes. The proclamation states it does not restrict the president’s authority to redecorate, select furnishings, or make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the historic structure.
When was the current Oval Office constructed?
President William Howard Taft ordered the oval room built in 1909, hiring architect Nathan C. Wyeth, who designed it to convey grandeur and elegance, the White House Historical Association reported.
TRUMP DECLARES THE OVAL OFFICE A NATIONAL MONUMENT! “It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody.” President Trump signed a proclamation in the Oval Office declaring it a national monument, and said he’s sending it to Congress to be ratified. “We had the President of China… pic.twitter.com/pfypytB9c8”
The White House and its grounds were already recognized as a National Historic Landmark, but the proclamation gives the Oval Office specific protection as a discrete structure of national significance.
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