Overview

• Rep. Bob Onder introduced the Make Entertainment Great Again Act on July 28 to designate the John F. Kennedy Center as the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.
• Earlier in July, House Appropriations Republicans approved an amendment to call the Center’s Opera House the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.
• Title 20, Chapter 3 of U.S. Code bars any additional memorials or plaques at the Kennedy Center after December 2, 1983, posing a legal barrier to the renaming.
• The legislation has not yet reached the Senate and could face court challenges over its constitutionality and compliance with existing statutes.
• Critics including JFK’s descendants and arts advocates condemn the proposal as politicizing a national cultural institution that has seen single-ticket sales fall by 50% and subscriptions drop by up to 28% since President Trump assumed chairmanship in February.