The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board of trustees voted Thursday to rename the iconic cultural center in honor of the former president and President Trump, rebranding it as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” over the objections of at least one Democrat who said she was muted during the board’s phone meeting.
“The unanimous vote recognizes that the current chairman [Mr. Trump] saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction,” spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement. “The new Trump-Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
Mr. Trump, who had been inserting his name into the title before the board voted, said he was “honored” by the name change.
“The building was in such bad shape both physically, financially and every other way. Now it’s very solid, very strong,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
The board of trustees who voted were all appointed by Mr. Trump in February.
But Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a Democrat and an ex-officio member of the board, disputed claims by Ms. Daravi and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that the vote was unanimous. She said she tried to object, but was muted on the call.
“I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted,” she said in a video posted to X. “Each time I tried to speak, I was muted.”
Ms. Beatty said only Congress can approve the name change and said the board voting without the consent of Congress is “another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”
The name change is the latest move to rename Washington institutions after the president. Earlier this month, he renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace as the Donald J. Trump Center United States Institute of Peace.
Mr. Trump had recently begun referring to the Kennedy Center, which is named for the former president, as the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” He promoted the FIFA World Cup soccer draw for 2026 by declaring it would be held at the “Trump-Kennedy Center” before saying, “excuse me at the Kennedy Center,” drawing laughter from the crowd.
As he walked the red carpet earlier this month at the Kennedy Center Honors program, Mr. Trump was asked if he would rename the venue after himself. He responded that it would be the board’s decision.
The name change will likely be met with criticism from the Kennedy family. Maria Shriver, a niece of the late president, blasted Republicans for introducing legislation to rename the venue for Mr. Trump, calling the proposal “insane.”
“It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small-minded,” she wrote on social media. “Truly what is this about?”
It’s also unclear if the board has the legal authority to rebrand the performance venue. A 1983 federal law passed by Congress bans additional memorials at the center.
“The board shall assure that 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 statute says.
However, it’s unclear if the name change could go through if passed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
There appears to be some support in Congress for renaming the performing venue after Mr. Trump. Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee offered a bill that would rename the Kennedy Center’s opera house after first lady Melania Trump.
Rep. Bob Onder, Missouri Republican, in July introduced a bill that would strip Mr. Kennedy’s name from the building and rebrand it as the “Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts. He dubbed his bill the Make Entertainment Great Again Act, or the MEGA Act.
Neither bill has gained much traction, but Republicans may pick them up again if the board’s action encounters legal challenges.
Mr. Trump took over the Kennedy Center in February.
As part of Mr. Trump’s overhaul of the center, he named himself chairman and pledged to rid it of programming he said was woke and too focused on leftist ideology and political correctness. He has also named members to the board of trustees and will attend the taping of its annual honors program in the fall.
Mr. Trump ousted longtime Kennedy Center Board Chairman David Rubenstein, who is also the center’s biggest donor. Mr. Trump also fired Deborah F. Rutter, who served as the Kennedy Center’s president for more than a decade.
Mr. Trump installed longtime ally Richard Grenell as president and filled the board with new and conservative faces, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Mr. Trump said the changes were necessary to usher in a “golden age in arts and culture.” He pledged that there would be no more drag shows or “anti-American propaganda” at the Kennedy Center.
Mr. Trump’s changes stunned the arts community, especially after firing the center’s longtime director and promising to change its programming as part of an effort to put his stamp on the national arts scene.
In protest, some notable acts canceled shows at the Kennedy Center, among them the musical “Hamilton,” Issa Rae and Rhiannon Giddens.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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