The Oval Office makeover: Joe Biden adds a personal touch to his new office
Joe Biden has already given the Oval Office a makeover.
The president revealed his new décor Wednesday as he invited reporters to watch him sign a series of executive orders hours after his inauguration.
A bust of Cesar Chavez, the labor leader and civil rights activist, is nestled among an array of framed family photos displayed on a desk behind the new president. Busts of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy also feature.
A dark blue rug has been brought out of storage to replace a lighter colored one installed by former President Donald Trump.
Also gone are Trump’s gold curtains, replaced with darker shade of gold that hung when Bill Clinton was president.
As has the portrait of controversial former president Andrew Jackson, America’s first populist president, which was hung by Trump. Jackson was known to have built his personal fortune with slave labor while his time in office led to the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.
The Winston Churchill bust reinstated by Trump after it was removed by Barack Obama is no longer on display.
A Biden spokesperson told The Washington Post that reflects how ‘differences of opinion, expressed within the guardrails of the Republic, are essential to democracy’. The decorative changes were made Wednesday, they added.
Joe Biden revealed the new décor Wednesday as he invited reporters into his new office to watch him sign a series of executive orders hours after he took office. Framed pictures of his loved ones from left to right show the Biden family, late son Beau with his son Hunter in 2009, Biden and First Lady Dr Jill at the Home States Ball in 2009, a family picture of Joe, Jill and their children, a picture of the president with his daughter, the president’s three children
U.S. President Joe Biden adjusts his face mask as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, after his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. A framed picture of his late son Beau is left; a picture with his mother is second right, a picture with Pope Francis
Biden has already added some personal touches to the Oval Office. A picture with the Pope sits behind him. Biden will be the nation’s second Catholic president
Also pictured is Biden’s late mother Catherine Eugenia Finnegan. The image appears to have been taken during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver
In other additions Benjamin Franklin peers down at Biden from a portrait on a nearby wall. A portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt also hangs. Paintings of rivals President Thomas Jefferson and former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton have been placed near one another. As have George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Ashley Williams, the deputy director of Oval Office operations, said : ‘It was important for President Biden to walk into an Oval that looked like America and started to show the landscape of who he is going to be as president.’
Framed pictures of the president’s late son Capt. Beau Biden carrying his son Hunter, his mother Catherine Eugenia Finnegan and the pope also feature.
As do images with wife and first lady Dr Jill Biden and his wider family.
One office feature does remain: Biden is also using what’s known as the Resolute Desk because it was built from oak used in the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute. Trump used that desk, too.
Biden brought a dark blue rug out of storage to replace a lighter colored one installed by former President Donald Trump. Also gone are Trump’s gold curtains, replaced with darker shade of gold that hung when Bill Clinton was president
A bust of Cesar Chavez, the labor leader and civil rights activist, is nestled among an array of framed family photos displayed on a desk behind the new president. Busts of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy also feature
This image appears to be of the Biden family in more recent years. Ashley Williams, the deputy director of Oval Office operations, said : ‘It was important for President Biden to walk into an Oval that looked like America and started to show the landscape of who he is going to be as president’
In this Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 file photo, Capt. Beau Biden carries his son on his shoulders after an official welcome home ceremony for members of the Delaware Army National Guard 261st Signal Brigade in Dover, Del
Joe Biden and Jill Biden at Vice President Biden Home States Ball in 2009 also features
A family picture of Joe and Jill when their children – Beau, Hunter and Ashley – were young is also placed in the Oval Office
The newly elected president also has this picture with daughter Ashley on show
Beau, Ashley and Hunter feature in this childhood image. A Biden spokesperson told The Washington Post that reflects how ‘differences of opinion, expressed within the guardrails of the Republic, are essential to democracy’. The decorative changes were made Wednesday, they added
In January last year Trump showed off his backdrop of gold-colored curtains, the flags of the United States and the Presidential Seal, and some personal items.
On the far left side of the credenza he had a collection of military challenge coins. On the right side of the credenza were three family photos.
Those photo showed the Trumps in their apartment in Trump Tower. Donald Trump is sitting on a sofa while his son is lying down, leaning against his father while he puts his hand over his dad’s leg.
Melania Trump is seen sitting on the floor while resting her back against the sofa, her head held upright as Barron has his feet directly behind her.
It is notable that Trump placed that picture on the credenza alongside the portraits of his parents.
In past photographs of the Oval Office, the photo with Melania Trump and Barron was not there.
There is the portrait of his father, real estate developer Fred Trump; his mother, Mary Anne Trump; and a family photo showing the President with his current wife, Melania, and their young son, Barron.
The last photo was taken in January 2016 – ten months before he defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.
The Oval Office of the White House is newly redecorated for the first day of President Joe Biden’s administration, Wednesday
The president revealed the new décor Wednesday as he invited reporters into his new office
Biden brought a dark blue rug out of storage to replace a lighter colored one installed by Donald Trump. Also gone are Trump’s gold curtains, replaced with darker shade that hung when Bill Clinton was president
On the the table is a bust of former President Harry Truman. One office feature does remain: Biden is also using what’s known as the Resolute Desk because it was built from oak used in the British
Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute
Benjamin Franklin peers down at Biden from a portrait; a painting of Franklin D. Roosevelt also hangs. Portraits of rivals Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have been placed near one another
The Oval Office of the White House is newly redecorated for the first day of President Joe Biden’s administration, Wednesday, in Washington, including a rock from the moon on the center shelf
A pairing of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the mantle of the fireplace. Busts of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy also feature
A bust of civil rights leader Rosa Parks in The Oval Office Wednesday after Joe Biden took office
Busts of civil rights leader Rosa Parks, left, and President Abraham Lincoln, right are pictured Wednesday
A bust of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is pictured. The Winston Churchill bust reinstated by Trump after it was removed by Barack Obama is no longer on display
When Trump first moved in to the White House he was quick to decorative changes to his new home.
The Oval Office was redecorated for Trump, as gold curtains were installed behind the Resolute desk, replacing the crimson curtains that were installed under Barack Obama tenure.
In addition to the curtains being changed, the real estate mogul also got rid of a huge, circular rug from Obama’s presidency that featured quotes from leaders including, MLK Jr. and four former presidents.
It replacement appeared to be the sunburst gold and yellow rug with garland edges designed by Laura Bush during her husband’s presidency, as it’s said Bush requested to have one that expressed his spirit of optimism, ABC News reported at the time.
The couches inside the historic office were also replaced to be brocade and no longer grey suede, CNN reported.
Trump also followed through with one of his early promises, as he returned a Winston Churchill bust that Obama had removed to be replaced with a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It is common for a newly elected president to redecorate the Oval Office as well as other parts of the White House, which is worth $397.9million.
In January last year Trump showed off his backdrop of gold-colored curtains, the flags of the United States and the Presidential Seal, and some personal items. On the far left side of the credenza he had a collection of military challenge coins. On the right side of the credenza were three family photos. President Donald Trump delivers a speech from the Oval Office as the credenza behind him held his collection of military challenge coins (1); a portrait of his mother, Mary Anne Trump (2); his father, Fred Trump (3); and his wife, Melania, and their son, Barron (4)
A collection of US President Donald Trump’s challenge coins are seen in the Oval Office of the White House April 24, 2017
Those photo showed the Trumps in their apartment in Trump Tower. Donald Trump is sitting on a sofa while his son is lying down, leaning against his father while he puts his hand over his dad’s leg. Melania Trump is seen sitting on the floor while resting her back against the sofa, her head held upright as Barron has his feet directly behind her. It is notable that Trump placed that picture on the credenza alongside the portraits of his parents. In past photographs of the Oval Office, the photo with Melania Trump and Barron was not there
President Donald J. Trump (R) with Attorney General William Barr (L), make remarks before signing an executive order on social media that will punish Facebook, Google and Twitter for the way they police content online, in the Oval Office, White House, Washington, DC, USA, 28 May 2020
The living quarters inside the 132-room building is the area inside of the White House where the First Family has most authority in making changes.
It’s allowed for rooms in that specific area to be repainted to their liking as well as new decorations, bedding and furniture pieces are often times brought in for the First Family.
Though the First Family is allowed to make changes within the White House, there are rooms inside the historic building that are untouchable, such as the Lincoln Bedroom and public spaces like the state dining room and Green Room.
Changes that are sought to be made to any of those rooms have to be approved by from the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, as the White House is a living museum that contains hundreds of years of American History.
It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800.
