President Biden has removed the bust of former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill from display in the Oval Office.
According to the Washington Post, the bust was not part of a tour of the new design of the famous room. However, other busts, including labor leader Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr., are on display.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair had loaned President George W. Bush a bust of the British wartime leader in 2001.
Former President Barack Obama had caused controversy by removing it when he entered office in 2009, and it was viewed by critics as a snub of the U.S.-U.K. alliance. Although the White House noted that there was still a Churchill bust elsewhere in the building.
Former President Donald Trump restored a bust of Churchill to the Oval Office when he became president and posted with then-Prime Minister Theresa May during their first meeting in Washington in 2017.
“This is the original folks, in many, many ways,” he told the press at the time. “It’s a great honor to have Winston Churchill back.”
“We’re very pleased,” May had replied.
The U.S.-U.K. relationship under Biden will be crucial for Britain’s post-Brexit future, with the U.K. government hoping for a robust free trade deal between the two countries as it seeks to solidify its economic independence after leaving the E.U. at the end of 2020.
