Donald Trump could be delayed from using Oval Office for a year

The President-elect's introduction into the Oval Office could be disrupted

Obama has radically shifted his tone when speaking about Trump, a man he once described as 'not fit' to be president (AP)

Donald Trump could find his access to the hallowed Oval Office delayed and disrupted for a year after Barack Obama's administration put back renovation works, it has been reported.

According to former George W Bush adviser Karl Rove, Mr Trump may instead serve his first year across the street in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

It was here that Democrat President Richard Nixon recorded his infamous Watergate tapes.

“My understanding is that for the first year of his time in office, President Trump will not have the Oval Office,” said Mr Rove, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday.

“President Obama could have told the Secret Service, ‘I know you want to modernise the Oval Office with security enhancements – literally strip it down to the bare walls and build it back up so we’ve got bulletproof glass and so forth and so on, security arrangements in it, in my last year in office’ but instead he said, ‘Why don’t you do that [with] whoever comes next’.

“My understanding is, [Trump] will spend most of his first year using Richard Nixon’s old office in the Old Executive Office Building across Executive Drive and up the Navy steps.”

Obama had the Oval Office renovated in 2010, while he was on holiday, and it was adorned with big fluffy sofas and striped wallpaper.

Elle Décor editor-in-chief Michael Boodro said: “It [looked] much more comfortable and less intimidating.”

Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka sits in on his Manhattan meeting with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Reuters (Reuters)

Meanwhile, the drama surrounding Mr Trump's transition from president-elect to president continues.

Top United States security chief James Clapper resigned on Wednesday, while Mr Trump has faced criticism for hiring his three children and son-in-law.

Respected Republican figure Mike Rogers has also quit the former the transition team.