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11h ago

GOP Proposes Renaming Kennedy Center After President Trump

An earlier committee amendment designated the Opera House as the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House, with the main bill awaiting full congressional approval

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the opening night of “Les Misérables” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Overview

  • Rep. Bob Onder introduced the Make Entertainment Great Again Act on July 28 to redesignate the John F. Kennedy Center as the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.
  • House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment this month to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House as the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.
  • Both the Opera House amendment and the Make Entertainment Great Again Act must still pass full House and Senate votes before becoming law.
  • Legal experts and former board members say the renaming measures conflict with the center’s 1958 charter, which prohibits additional memorial designations on the public areas of the complex.
  • Kennedy family members, led by grandson Jack Schlossberg, and arts advocates warn that the partisan name changes threaten the institution’s bipartisan legacy and artistic autonomy.