Kennedy Center adds Trump’s name to building

The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts added President Trump’s name to its exterior as part of its rebranding as the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” as the debate rages over whether Mr. Trump’s hand-picked board had the authority to rename the cultural center.

Workers began adding Mr. Trump’s name Friday morning and by mid-afternoon the building’s facade had his name above the sign reading “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Earlier Friday, photos began appearing on social media showing workers adding Mr. Trump’s name to the building’s exterior. A blue tarp was draped over part of the outside and workers stood on scaffolding. Loud drilling could also be heard from the building.

The activity was similar to when Mr. Trump renamed the U.S. Institute for Peace after himself this month. Workers quickly added his name to several areas of the agency’s building.

Sen. Andy Kim, New Jersey Democrat, was among those who posted photos of the name change and vowed to fight it.

“This needs to stop as it’s illegal to change without Congress,” he wrote on X

The performing arts center’s board of trustees, which Mr. Trump chose, voted Thursday to rename the cultural center in honor of Presidents Kennedy and Trump, rebranding it the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”

“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 had been inserting his name into the title before the board voted. 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.

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.

Mr. Kim and other Democrats on the Hill, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, say the name change is illegal without congressional action.

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.

Richard Grenell, the center’s interim president who was appointed by Mr. Trump, said congressional approval isn’t needed because the name change doesn’t remove Kennedy’s name.

“The decision of the Trump Kennedy Center Board doesn’t impact the Memorial to Kennedy set up by Congress,” he wrote on X.