In a controversial decision, the board appointed by President Donald Trump has voted to rename Washington’s renowned performing arts venue as the Trump Kennedy Center, according to an announcement from the White House.
On Thursday, the board’s decision sparked outrage among Democrats, who argued that the board exceeded its legal authority. The center was originally named after President John F. Kennedy in 1964, following his assassination. Former Senate historian Donald A. Ritchie, who served from 2009 to 2015, clarified that since Congress initially named the center, any official change would require congressional approval to amend the existing law.
Ritchie further explained that while Trump and his supporters might choose to use the new name informally, such a change wouldn’t hold legal standing without congressional action.
Despite the legal complexities, the board wasted no time, updating its website to reflect the new name immediately after the vote.
Since taking office again in January, Trump has used the performing arts center as a focal point in his broader critique against what he perceives as a “woke” and anti-American culture.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has made the center a touchstone in a broader attack against what he has lambasted as “woke” anti-American culture.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that a name change requires legislative action.
“Only Congress can rename the Kennedy Center,” said the New York Democrat, who serves on the board as an ex officio member because of his position in Congress.
Trump has teased the name change for some time
Roma Daravi, a spokesperson for the center, said its board voted unanimously for the new name: The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, attributing it to the “unbelievable work” she said Trump has done on the center since he returned to office in January.
Trump, a Republican who’s chairman of the board, said he was honored.
“The board is a very distinguished board, most distinguished people in the country, and I was surprised by it and I was honored by it,” he said at the White House.
Trump had already been referring to the center as the “Trump Kennedy Center.” Asked Dec. 7 as he walked the red carpet for the Kennedy Center Honors program whether he would rename the venue after himself, Trump said such a decision would be up to the board.
Earlier this month, he talked about a “big event” happening at the “Trump Kennedy Center” before saying, “excuse me, at the Kennedy Center,” as his audience laughed. He was referring to the FIFA World Cup soccer draw for 2026, in which he participated.
Kennedy family members aren’t on board with it
The board vote did not sit well with some of the Kennedys.
Maria Shriver, a niece of John F. Kennedy, said it is “beyond comprehension” that Trump has sought to add his name to the memorial to her uncle and “beyond wild” that he would think doing so is acceptable. “It is not,” she said in a social media post.
Shriver said Kennedy was a president who brought the arts into the White House and she speculated that Trump might next seek to rename John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York or any of the other memorials to presidents in Washington.
Earlier this year, Trump renovated the Kennedy-era Rose Garden at the White House to replace the lawn with paving stones.
In his own post on the social platform X, Shriver’s brother, Tim Shriver, called the renaming an “insult to a great president.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is cousins with the Shrivers, serves in Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Congressional reaction breaks along party lines
Republicans approved of the vote while Democrats denounced it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is close to Trump, called it a “well-deserved honor” for the president “because he has poured his heart and soul into refurbishing and revitalizing” the institution.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, another ex officio board member, said she participated in the meeting remotely and was muted when she tried to voice her concerns about the vote. “This is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say,” she said.
In response, Daravi said the entire board was invited to attend in person “and the privilege of listening in on the meeting was granted to all members, even those without a vote,” such as Beatty.
Beatty is among a group of non-voting Democratic lawmakers serving on the board who said the vote was illegal.
A bill introduced in Congress in July by Rep. Bob Order, R-Mo., — if passed and signed into law — would designate the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts. The House transportation committee has yet to take up the bill.
Trump is more focused on the Kennedy Center
Trump showed scant interest in the Kennedy Center during his first term as president, but since returning to office in January he has replaced board members appointed by Democratic presidents with some of his most ardent supporters, who then elected him as board chairman.
He has criticized the center’s past programming as too liberal and current physical appearance and has vowed to overhaul both.
Trump secured more than $250 million from the Republican-controlled Congress for renovations of the building, including the promise of fresh paint, new seats in the theaters and other upgrades.
He attended opening night of the musical “Les Misérables,” and last week he served as host of the Kennedy Center Honors program after not attending the show during his first term as president. The awards program is scheduled to be broadcast by CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23.
Sales of subscription packages are said to have declined since Trump’s takeover of the center, and several touring productions, including “Hamilton,” have canceled planned runs there. Rows of empty seats have been seen in the Concert Hall during performances by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Some performers, including actor Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens, have scrapped scheduled appearances, and Kennedy Center consultants including musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming have resigned.
AP National Writer Hillel Italie in New York and Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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