President Donald Trump has directed that the official portraits of former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush be removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House and rehung at the top of a restricted stairwell leading to the president’s private residence, multiple news outlets reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the matter. The relocation, first detailed by CNN on Aug. 10 and confirmed by a White House official to USA Today, breaks a decades-old tradition of giving the two most recent occupants of the Oval Office prominent placement where thousands of visitors can view their likenesses during public tours. The new site, on the Grand Staircase landing, is generally off-limits to the public and accessible mainly to the first family, Secret Service personnel and a small number of residence staff. Sources told CNN that Trump personally oversaw the decision. Obama’s photorealistic portrait by Robert McCurdy, unveiled in 2022, had already been shifted once in April to make room for a painting depicting Trump surviving last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Portraits of President Joe Biden have yet to be completed and installed. The move underscores the tension between the 47th president and several of his predecessors: Obama has dismissed recent accusations by Trump as “nonsense,” while neither of the Bush presidents endorsed Trump in his electoral campaigns.