Overview
- Workers began installing new lettering on the facade within a day of the vote, and the center’s website header was changed to the new name.
- The White House said trustees voted unanimously to adopt “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” crediting Trump with “saving” the building.
- Ex officio trustee Rep. Joyce Beatty said she was muted during the meeting and did not support the move, directly contesting claims of a unanimous vote.
- Legal scholars point to statutes naming the venue a federal memorial and restricting additional memorials, and they note uncertainty over who has standing to challenge the change.
- Since returning to office, Trump reshaped the board, installed allies including Richard Grenell, and directed staffing and programming shifts that paved the way for the rebranding.