This desk, the ‘C&O,’ which is also very well known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job.

For 145 years, the Resolute Desk has been closely associated with US presidents, having first been placed in the Oval Office during John F Kennedy’s tenure. But Donald Trump has decided to remove it and replace it with the C&O Desk.

Since 1977, the Resolute Desk has remained a firm fixture in the Oval Office and used by every president bar George H.W. Bush, who opted for the C&O Desk. Bush Sr is the only president to use the C&O Desk, marking it as the shortest-serving desk to date.