House Republicans have proposed renaming the Kennedy Center and opera house after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump — but the change would violate the law that created the center, according to a new report.
Last week, Republicans passed an amendment in committee that would rename the opera house after the first lady. The measure is now part of legislation funding the interior department, but the legislation would have to be voted through the full House and Senate before becoming law. Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson sponsored the legislation.
The following day, Missouri Republican Rep. Bob Onder put forward the Make Entertainment Great Again Act, which would rename the center “the Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.” The House hasn’t moved on the legislation as of yet.
However, three former Kennedy Center board members told NBC News that the legislation that established the center prohibits any of the facilities from being renamed, apart from the Eisenhower Theater, which was named after President Dwight Eisenhower after his administration approved its construction in 1958. But the project was delayed and later revived during the administration of President John F. Kennedy. It was named after Kennedy following his assassination.
“After December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” the U.S. code states.
Maine Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree is the top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee on the interior.
“Legally, they can’t just slap her name on it without congressional action,” a spokesperson for Pingree told NBC News.
“If Republicans can’t pass their budget — which they usually can’t — the Melania Trump renaming provision dies,” the spokesperson added. “The only real wildcard is whether Trump or his allies ignore the law entirely and try to do it unilaterally. But that would have no legal basis — and would almost certainly trigger a court fight.”
A Simpson spokesperson told the network that the White House and the office of the first lady were not made aware of the amendment before he proposed it. The spokesperson noted that the office of the first lady called Simpson’s office to thank the congressman afterwards.
The spokesperson added that Simpson put forward the amendment because “he understands that the first lady has always been a very avid supporter of the arts as well. She’s had a long-standing commitment to the arts. ... It really did come from his heart.”
As is tradition, the first lady is the honorary chair of the center. However, unlike in his first term, Trump has shown great interest in the arts and the center. Trump named himself the chair of the center and removed the previous bipartisan Board of Trustees, as well as the previous president and chair.
Trump made his White House special envoy, former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, the president of the center. The president took to social media to write that Grenell “shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture.” He added that Grenell would make sure there would be no “ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”
Maria Shriver, Kennedy’s niece, blasted the effort to rename the center on X on Monday night.
“This is insane. It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” she wrote. “Truly, what is this about? It’s always about something. ‘Let’s get rid of the Rose Garden. Let’s rename the Kennedy Center.’ What’s next?”
Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, also took to social media to criticize Republicans for the motion to rename the opera house after the first lady.
“The Trump Administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression. He uses his awesome powers to suppress free expression and instill fear. But this isn’t about the arts,” he said on Instagram.
“Trump is obsessed with being bigger than JFK, with minimizing the many heroes of our past, as if that elevates him. It doesn’t,” he added.
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