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a board chosen by the president donald trump Voted to change the name WashingtonThe Trump-Kennedy Center is slated to be a major performing arts venue, but critics say the move is not legal.
Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt announced the decision Thursday on xThe change is attributed to “the incredible work President Trump has done over the past year buildingNot only from its reconstruction point of view, but also from the economic and its reputation point of view,”
The president, who previously jokingly referred to the venue as the “Trump Kennedy Center”, said he was surprised by the vote.
“I was surprised by it. I was honored by it,” Trump said Thursday as he signed an executive order. “You know, we’re saving the building. We saved the building.”
Can the Kennedy Center be renamed after Trump?
According to legal observers, only Congress can legally change the name of the Kennedy Center.
“Under current law, I think there is very little question that the Kennedy Center board cannot rename the opera house after Melania Trump or anyone else and would require congressional permission to do anything like that,” said David Super, a Georgetown law professor. told Washington Post Earlier this year, Congress was considering renaming the center for the President or First Lady. “…That law is very clear, and I really can’t find any loophole in it.”
Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the center’s board, said the name change vote was not on the agenda and that on the call on which it was discussed, she was muted and not allowed to express her opposition.
“It was not the consensus,” she said wrote On X. “This is censorship.”
How are members of the Kennedy family reacting to this change?
The decision to rename the center was sharply criticized by relatives of the late President Kennedy.
Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s niece, wrote X that the decision left him “speechless, angry and in a state of disbelief.”
Jack Schlossberg, grandson of the late president, claimed that the decision to rename the center was inspired by his campaign for Congress in New York.
“Our campaign represents everything Trump cannot afford or defeat,” Schlossberg wrote On X.
Independent The White House and Kennedy Center have been contacted for comment.
Trump has repeatedly proposed renaming the Kennedy Center.
Trump, who is chairman of the board, has repeatedly mentioned the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which has been renamed the “Trump Kennedy Center” after its Democratic predecessor.
On December 7, when she was questioned about naming the venue after herself while walking the red carpet Kennedy Center Honors At the event, Trump said such a decision would be up to the board.
Earlier this month, he talked about “a big event on Friday at the Trump Kennedy Center”, after which he quickly corrected himself and said “at the Kennedy Center, excuse me”, which drew laughter from his audience.
He was referencing the 2026 FIFA World Cup football draw in which he participated.
The name change is the latest in the controversial Kennedy Center acquisition by Trump.
While Trump showed little interest in the Kennedy Center during his first term, his return to office in January saw him replace board members appointed by Democratic presidents with those of his staunchest supporters, who later elected him as board chair. He has also criticized the center’s programming and physical condition and has promised to make radical changes to both.
Trump received more than $250 million from the Republican-controlled Congress to renovate the building, attended the opening night of the musical “Les Miserables” and hosted the Kennedy Center Honors event last week, an event he did not attend during his first term. The awards show is scheduled to air Dec. 23 on CBS and Paramount+.
The newly established leadership at the center has praised Trump’s leadership.
Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, said, “It was unanimously agreed that the current president saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.” Post On Thursday. “The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects clear bipartisan support for America’s cultural hub for generations to come.”
Since Trump’s takeover, artists have boycotted the center and ticket sales at its three largest venues have declined sharply, according to an analysis by the paper.
There was a stir in the Kennedy Center after Trump. prior decision to convert The Kennedy-era Rose Garden at the White House was converted into a patio with paving stones instead of a lawn. Another member of the Kennedy family, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. currently serves as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in Trump’s Cabinet.
Name changing competition in Trump’s first term
The Trump administration has shown an enthusiasm for renaming things according to the wishes of the president and his allies, even when they do not have the explicit authority to do so.
The White House is now pushing to refer to the Pentagon as the War Department, and has signed an executive order to that effect, although a Congressional action is required To officially change the name of a federal department. This has not happened till now.
The President made a “trump gold card“The immigration program grants permanent residence to individuals who pay the government $1 million, although critics say they do not have the authority to make unilateral changes to immigration law.