Making Daily Headlines · Page 3
Trump Preserves the Oval Office, With the Furniture Still Free to Move
· New York time
President Trump signed a proclamation declaring the Oval Office a national monument after making major changes to its decor. The designation does not prevent future presidents from restyling the room or rolling back the proclamation itself, CBS reports. That qualification leaves the famous office both preserved and available for another round of presidential taste. The room has long served as a setting for consequential decisions and carefully arranged public appearances. Under Trump, it has also acquired abundant gold flourishes, making the latest version easy to distinguish from earlier ones. The White House East Wing has meanwhile been torn down, part of a wider period of physical change at the presidential complex. A monument designation suggests permanence, but this one does not lock the current design in place. A successor could keep the gold, replace it, or undo the proclamation. The political statement is therefore more durable than the decorating scheme only for as long as a later president chooses to leave it alone. That makes the Oval Office a particularly Washington kind of landmark: celebrated as historic while remaining subject to the preferences of whoever wins the next lease. The desk may stay famous, but the curtains can still face a change of administration.
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