The 5 November 2026 proclamation covers the Oval Office (Room 110), Outer Oval Office (Rooms 106 and 108), and Cabinet Room (Room 105), and directs federal officials to plan for their preservation.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation establishing the Oval Office National Monument under the Antiquities Act, which permits presidents to designate historic sites and objects on federally owned or controlled land, with reserved land confined to the smallest area compatible with their proper care and management. The designation brings preservation planning and review requirements to the specified White House rooms.
The monument comprises the Oval Office (Room 110), the Outer Oval Office (Rooms 106 and 108), and the Cabinet Room (Room 105).
The White House and its grounds are federal property and were already a National Historic Landmark, with the National Park Service administering them as part of President’s Park. The White House said the Oval Office warranted separate recognition and protective management as a distinct historic structure.
According to the proclamation, the oval design was introduced in the West Wing under President William Howard Taft and refined in the early 1930s. The office acquired its present location and form under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Under the proclamation, the Interior Secretary must manage the monument through the National Park Service to protect its historic character, architectural integrity and connection to the presidency. The secretary must develop and implement a plan prioritizing structural and significant architectural features, consulting the White House Office of Administration and other relevant executive departments, agencies and offices.
Before an action substantially alters or demolishes the monument or its essential architectural elements, the secretary must require documentation, review and consideration of alternatives. Proposed changes affecting its historic character must also be evaluated for consistency with its national significance.
The secretary must coordinate with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and other appropriate advisory bodies. The committee already sets policy for the White House’s museum function, state rooms and collections, and advises on changes to principal rooms and historic guest suites in the residence.
The proclamation preserves the president’s authority to redecorate, choose furnishings and make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the monument’s historic structure or architectural character.
It also leaves existing White House exemptions under the National Historic Preservation Act and Congress’s authority over federal property unchanged. One statutory provision says the historic-preservation division of the law does not apply to the White House and its grounds.
The proclamation directs the Interior Secretary to take the necessary steps to implement it, including putting the management plan into effect.
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