Inside look of Biden's newly decorated Oval Office
The Oval Office of the White House is newly redecorated for the first day of President Joe Biden's administration, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. The most visually striking change is Biden's choice of a deep blue rug, with the presidential seal in the middle that was last used by President Bill Clinton, to replace a light colored rug laid down by Trump. Biden is also using Clinton's deep gold draperies. [Photo: AP/Alex Brandon]
President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Biden kept the Resolute desk, but he got rid of the red button that Trump had on the desk and would push to have a butler bring him a Diet Coke, his beverage of choice. [Photo: AP/Evan Vucci]
The Oval Office of the White House is newly redecorated for the first day of President Joe Biden's administration, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. On the wall across from Biden's desk is a portrait collage of predecessors George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and former treasury secretary. [Photo: AP/Alex Brandon]
The Oval Office of the White House is newly redecorated for the first day of President Joe Biden's administration, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Paul Chavez had no idea where a sculpture of his father, Latino American civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez, would end up in the White House. He agreed just this week to lend the bronze bust to President Joe Biden and hustled to get it wrapped up and shipped across the country from California. It was an utter surprise Wednesday when he saw Biden at his desk in the Oval Office, with the bust of the late Cesar Chavez right behind the president. [Photo: AP/Alex Brandon]
President Joe Biden revealed his Oval Office touch-up as he signed a raft of executive orders and other actions in his first hours as the nation's 46th president on Wednesday.
The most visually striking change is Biden's choice of a deep blue rug, with the presidential seal in the middle that was last used by President Bill Clinton, to replace a light colored rug laid down by Trump. Biden is also using Clinton's deep gold draperies.
Busts of civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are also on display, along with a sculpture of President Harry Truman. Biden removed a bust of Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister.
On the wall across from Biden's desk is a collage of the portraits of predecessors including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and former Treasury Secretary.
No longer on display is a portrait of President Andrew Jackson, a Trump favorite who signed the Indian Removal Act that forced tens of thousands of Native Americans out of their homeland.
Biden is keeping the Resolute desk, so named because it was built using oak from the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute. But he got rid of the red button that Trump had on the desk installed to ring the butler to bring him a Diet Coke, his beverage of choice.
All presidents tweak the Oval Office decor at the start of their terms to reflect their personal tastes or to telegraph broader messages to the public.
The White House maintains a vast collection of furniture, paintings and other artifacts that the Presidents can choose from. Presidents are also allowed to borrow items from the Smithsonian and other museums. The White House curator oversees everything, and the makeover is carried out in the hours after the outgoing president's departure and before the arrival of the new president.
Biden also replaced the row of military service flags Trump used to decorate the office with a single American flag and a flag with the presidential seal, both positioned behind his desk.
He also chose a tufted, dark brown leather chair in place of the reddish brown desk chair used by Trump.
(Story includes material sourced from AP.)