Overview

• The House Appropriations Committee adopted a 33-25 amendment by Rep. Mike Simpson to designate the Opera House as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”
• The renaming provision is included in the FY26 Interior Department appropriations bill that funds the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
• Simpson cited Melania Trump’s role as honorary chair of the Kennedy Center board and her support for arts initiatives in proposing the change.
• Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Chellie Pingree, criticized the amendment as a divisive political maneuver.
• If approved by the full House, the measure will still require 60 votes in the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain.