Since the election, China has flexed its military might in overt and covert ways, highlighting challenges for the US and its allies.

West Wing office space has long been a status symbol in official Washington where proximity and access to the president can equate to influence.

While President Harry Truman once famously remarked that the only sure way to find a friend in the American capital was to “get a dog,” President-elect Trump has chosen to keep his White House among the 55 percent of American residences that don’t have a canine companion among them.