Trump signs proclamation he says makes the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument

President Donald Trump signed a document Thursday, Nov. 5, that he said will protect the Oval Office and Cabinet Room from future changes, The Associated Press and Reuters reported. “We’re making it a national monument and it will not be allowed to be touched by anybody,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, according to AP.¹²

The text was not on the White House’s presidential actions list as of 5:27 p.m. ET Thursday. The only November entries were two proclamations dated Nov. 3, “Anti-Communism Week, 2026” and “The American Declaration of Freedom in Space.”³ What the document does is known so far only from Trump’s remarks and the news reports of them.

What Trump said

Asked whether the rooms could still be changed, Trump said, “No major modification without the approval of Congress,” Reuters reported.² He said anyone who wanted to alter the shape of the Oval Office would have to go to Congress, and that he hoped lawmakers “will be smart enough not to let that happen,” according to Reuters.²

Since returning to office, Trump has added portraits, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and gold accents to the Oval Office, AP and Reuters reported.¹²

AP reported that the signing came two days after the Nov. 3 elections, in which Democrats won control of Congress.¹ Trump has also spoken this week about the White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, AP reported.¹

Background: the Antiquities Act

AP, Reuters and Newsweek did not say what law the document relies on.¹²⁴ ANI, an Indian news agency, wrote that Trump was seeking to preserve the rooms as national monuments “under the Antiquities Act,” without quoting the text or naming a source for that description.⁵ We could not confirm that from any record. The law is described here as background only, not as the document’s confirmed authority.

The Antiquities Act, 54 U.S.C. 320301, says a president may “declare by public proclamation” historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest to be national monuments, if they are “situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government.”⁶ Trump cited that section in his July 13 proclamation changing the Bears Ears National Monument.⁷

Newsweek reported that the White House already holds National Historic Landmark status and said that raises questions about what the document adds.⁴

None of the reports we read quoted anyone other than Trump.¹²⁴⁵

What the records do not show

• We have not read the document. We do not know what law it cites, what it covers beyond the two rooms or how it describes the rooms’ contents, furnishings or decor.³
• No record we opened addresses this document, and this story makes no statement about its legal effect.³
• AP’s and Newsweek’s text calls the document a proclamation, while photo captions on those stories call it an executive order. Reuters calls it a document.¹⁴²
• Nothing we opened shows a provision requiring Congress’ approval for changes. That description comes from Trump’s remarks as Reuters reported them.²
• Nothing we opened shows what the document says about future presidents, or what counts as a “major” change.²
• AP’s and Reuters’ reports describe no specific changes to the Cabinet Room.¹²