It’s standard practice for the White House to be redecorated for a new president. Family photos are displayed, presidential portraits are swapped out, and the Oval Office gets a makeover. Here are just a few of the quick changes that President Biden has made to his working quarters at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
1. Bill Clinton’s blue rug is back.
A quick redesign of the Oval Office for President Biden:
– Busts of MLK and RFK flank a fireplace in the office.
– Large portrait of FDR
– Paintings of Jefferson and Hamilton
– Clinton’s draps and blue rug @AnnieLinskey with the details:https://t.co/ipK3g5OtDZ pic.twitter.com/1NzNhFHWyE— Matt Viser (@mviser) January 20, 2021
2. Print newspapers: apparently also back.
White House says it’s going to do things and doesn’t always follow through, but NYT and WaPo subscriptions were ended.
Some aides privately expressing regret. But doubt Trump will stop reading either.
WaPo *online* subscription remains.
WH still gets WSJ, Hill, NY Post etc. pic.twitter.com/1H3lzdBtYM
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 24, 2019
3. The Diet Coke button, gone. (a button that summons a butler with a Diet Coke did not seem quite real–but its existence is well documented.)
President Biden has removed the Diet Coke button. When @ShippersUnbound and I interviewed Donald Trump in 2019, we became fascinated by what the little red button did. Eventually Trump pressed it, and a butler swiftly brought in a Diet Coke on a silver platter. It’s gone now. pic.twitter.com/rFzhPaHYjk
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) January 21, 2021
4. An Oval Office portrait of Andrew Jackson was replaced with one of Benjamin Franklin.
Biden replaces Andrew Jackson portrait in Oval Office, adds Cesar Chavez bust https://t.co/NyK4fhVGvx pic.twitter.com/8ZCaenkpX1
— The Hill (@thehill) January 21, 2021
5. A bust of Cesar Chavez is now displayed behind the Resolute Desk.
The Oval Office décor quickly changed after President Joe Biden's inauguration. Among the new displays near a collection of personal photos: a bust of Mexican American farm labor leader Cesar Chavez. https://t.co/pTLP7sCcEu
— CNN International (@cnni) January 21, 2021
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
