Reported by BBC World
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.
The executive order declares the president's official office, which he has renovated, to be a national monument.
"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.
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It is unclear whether this action could be reversed by a future president or a legal challenge.
American presidents currently have the power to make some changes to the White House but large projects require the permission of Congress.
The document 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".
"We like the Oval Office, and it's a symbol, like the White House itself. It's a symbol of our country and the greatness of our country," Trump said, adding that world leaders who have visited in recent months have complimented his decorative changes to the room.
Trump said the White House and the Oval Office had been in need of repairs before his changes, calling it "badly damaged". He described broken windows, cracked walls and broken stone.
Many of the noticeable changes, though, were cosmetic, including a large gold plaque reading "Oval Office" outside the space, paving over the Rose Garden and adding a new helicopter pad.
Trump said the order would "make it impossible for anybody ever to destroy this incredible space".
The Oval Office in 2025 during Trump's second term in the White House
The office in 2015 during Barack Obama's time in the White House
The entire building is already designated as a National Historic Landmark, which is intended to prevent against sudden changes to the building.
The order comes months after Trump tore down the entirety of the White House East Wing in a project that has faced legal challenges.