Overview

• On July 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment, by a 33–25 vote, to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House after First Lady Melania Trump.
• Rep. Mike Simpson authored the measure, which is attached to the FY2026 Homeland Security appropriations bill.
• Federal funding for the Kennedy Center would be withheld if the venue does not adopt the new name.
• The Opera House has 2,347 seats and hosts the annual Kennedy Center Honors as the center’s second-largest theater.
• The amendment now heads to the full House and Senate, and the Kennedy Center has yet to decide whether to comply with the renaming condition.