Trump declares the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument, but a successor can undo it

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he says will preserve the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room as a national monument, the Associated Press reported. It was his first official action after Republicans lost ground in Tuesday's midterm elections, AP said.

What the order does, and does not do

Trump described it in sweeping 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," he told reporters, per AP and BBC News.

The text is narrower. According to AP, it says nothing in it will "restrict the President's authority to redecorate the monument, select furnishings, or make ordinary operational and security modifications that do not substantially impair the monument's historic structure or architectural character." It directs the Interior secretary to manage the space and requires "documentation, review, and consideration of alternatives before any action that would substantially alter or demolish the monument."

Trump separately said major changes would have to go back to Congress. AP noted that requirement is not in the document's text.

Why it may not last

AP points out that a successor can roll the proclamation back, and that Trump himself has reversed national monument designations made by predecessors. BBC adds that revoking a monument designation has never been tested in court, and that Trump scaled back two Utah monuments in 2017. Whether a future president could simply reverse this one, or whether a court challenge would succeed, is unclear, BBC said.

Preservation lawyer Greg Werkheiser told BBC that furniture and decor stay at a president's discretion as long as permanent art and architecture are not damaged. He called the order legally meaningless as a lock on the room and noted the administration's other projects in Washington, including the arch that a judge paused late Thursday. We cover that ruling in our report on the 14-day restraining order.

The backdrop

AP described it as the third day this week the president focused his public remarks on Washington building projects. On Wednesday he signed the final beam of his ballroom project, and on Monday he visited the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to discuss its renovation. BBC notes the East Wing was demolished months ago for the ballroom, which Congress did not approve, and that the project has faced legal challenges.

A red cap reading "VETO" sat on the Resolute Desk during the signing, AP noted, a reference to the shift in power in Congress.

Does it touch your wallet?

Not directly. Neither outlet reported a cost, a budget line or any effect on markets, and we do not claim one. The story matters mainly as a read on how the White House is using executive authority at the start of a divided Washington.

Sources: Associated Press; BBC News. BBC calls the document an executive order; AP calls it a proclamation, and we follow AP. This is news reporting, not legal advice.