Trump tries to prevent anyone from changing his gold-covered Oval Office by declaring it a landmark

President Donald Trump moved on Thursday to shield his redecorated, gold-heavy Oval Office from any future changes, signing a declaration that designates both that room and the White House Cabinet Room as national monuments. The ceremony came just two days after Republicans took heavy losses in the midterm elections, according to The Independent.

Trump said the document, which sat on the Resolute Desk, would be sent to Congress for ratification. His stated aim is to stop anyone from touching, destroying or tearing down the spaces. He described the potential offenders as people lacking good sense who might want to rebuild the rooms in a somewhat different form.

To illustrate the risk, the president imagined a later occupant of the White House deciding to abandon the room's familiar oval shape in favor of a square one. The declaration, in his telling, would rule out that kind of overhaul by any successor. Whether Congress will take up the measure was not addressed in the account of the event, and no timeline for a vote was given.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →