Following a review by the Office of Historic Continuity, the Presidential Preservation Act was signed on Thursday, designating the Oval Office a protected site of national heritage. The order prohibits future occupants from altering the room’s furnishings, wall treatments, or floor plan without authorisation from a Commission on Presidential Aesthetics, which has been established but not yet staffed.
The order follows a series of changes to the room’s decor, each described in the accompanying fact sheet as ‘restorative.’ The East Wing, previously identified as structurally redundant, was removed in a process the department characterised as a controlled reduction of legacy footprint. Visitors will be informed that the site is now preserved in its current condition for future generations.
Under the order, the Oval Office is classified as a National Park Service unit, with day-to-day administrative responsibility assigned to the White House. Park rangers will be deployed to ensure visitors do not touch the Resolute Desk. Governance will continue within the designated space, subject to visitor capacity limits and a posted advisory asking staff to refrain from photography.
The Department of the Interior has been briefed. Historians have been consulted in a limited capacity and have been asked to confirm the room’s historical significance at a later date.