Inside Donald Trump's Oval Office revamp: The changes the President's made as he returns to the White House
21 January 2025, 16:48
President Trump has revamped the Oval Office in the White House, bringing back many of the staples from his first term.
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Gone is a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that President Joe Biden hung over the historic office fireplace and back is Trump's famous Diet Coke button, a bust of Winston Churchill and portraits of the US's first Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton and the country's third president Thomas Jefferson.
Each President revamps the Oval Office after their inauguration and picks out curtains, the rug, some furniture and the artwork to start their four year term.
Presidents are able to select artwork from the White House collection, the Smithsonian, or ask to loan works from other institutions in the US, although there are some restriction on the size of the art that can fit in the Oval Office because of the circular walls.
President Biden kept the wallpaper and gold curtains and a bust of Martin Luther King Jr selected by Trump in 2017 meaning that those also did not need to be changed.
However, Trump has removed the blue rug of the Biden era and replaced it with a neutral cream carpet, added silver eagle features on the mantelpiece over the fireplace and brought back military flags for each service branch.
Read more: Trump's executive orders - from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to January 6 pardons
The Resolute Desk remains in place, as with most Presidents. It was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B Hayes in 1880 and is made of mahogany and white oak timbers from British naval ship HMS Resolute.
Behind the desk are pictures of Trump's family, including an image of his daughter Ivanka as a child and of Donald and Melania with their son Barron when he as young, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Presidents can also make personal additions to the Oval Office, showing parts of their personalities.
President Barack Obama kept a bowl of apples in the room, Biden had chocolate chip cookies on hand and Trump has a valet button for Diet Coke deliveries installed on the desk.
Most of the changes to the Oval Office take place before the new President arrives, meaning that some alterations were underway this week while Biden was still in the building.
