Overview
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll reported this month found the president's approval near 32 percent and that 67 percent of Americans say new or renovated D.C. monuments are a low priority or inappropriate.
- Large shares of Republican voters expressed opposition in the same poll, with about half calling the projects unnecessary, 53 percent opposing adding the president’s name to the Kennedy Center, and 64 percent opposing withholding funds to force the change.
- Courts have repeatedly blocked attempts to rename the John F. Kennedy Center, a legal fight that coincided with the center’s board closing the venue for a planned $257 million renovation.
- Operational failures have hampered the makeover agenda, including a summer repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool lining that peeled and triggered explosive algae growth, and critics warn a proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery would disrupt the skyline and shadow veterans’ graves.
- The administration is taking administrative steps to lock in changes, including an executive order issued shortly after the midterm election intended to prevent successors from altering recent Oval Office additions, which could prolong legal and funding disputes and keep the projects politically charged.