November 5, 2026 / 11:41 PM EST / CBS/AP

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President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he says will preserve the Oval Office and Cabinet Room as a national monument, his first official action after his party was swept aside in midterm elections on Tuesday.

But the action does not prevent future presidents from restyling the iconic office that Mr. Trump has filled to the brim with gold flourishes, nor does it prevent a successor from rolling back the proclamation itself. Mr. Trump himself has reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.

Mr. Trump, however, described the Oval Office order in expansive terms.

"It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape," Mr. Trump said. "We like the Oval Office, and it's a symbol, like the White House itself."

President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 5, 2026.…