Trump Signs Order Preventing Future Presidents From Changing Oval Office

(BBC): US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that he says will prevent future presidents from making certain changes to the White House Oval Office.

Trump, a former real estate mogul, has altered the president's official office during his second term, most notably by adding many gold features to its walls.

"So we're making it a national monument, and 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," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

American presidents currently have the power to make some changes to the White House but large projects require the permission of Congress.

Thursday's executive order declares the Oval Office to be a national monument, along with some of its surrounding rooms.

The document also says that it does not "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".