New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. Image: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will now have a new name — the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the news on social media Thursday, saying that the board of the center voted unanimously for the change, “Because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”
The website for the center has already been updated to reflect the change, and new signage on the building went up on Friday.
Shortly after the announcement on Thursday, Ohio Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, refuted the claim that it was a unanimous vote. “Each time I tried to speak, I was muted,” she said in a video posted to social media. “Participants were not allowed to voice their concern.”
When asked about the call, Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, sent a statement reiterating the vote was unanimous: “The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
Other Democrats in Congress who are ex-officio members of the Kennedy Center Board, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement stating that the president is renaming the institution “without legal authority.”
“Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action,” the statement reads.
Earlier this year, Trump installed himself as the chairman of the center, firing former president Deborah Rutter and ousting the previous board chair David Rubenstein, along with board members appointed by President Biden. He then appointed a new board, including second lady Usha Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Fox News host Laura Ingraham and more.
Trump hinted at the name change earlier this month, when he took questions before becoming the first president to host the Kennedy Center Honors. He deferred to the board when asked directly about changing the name but said “we are saving the Kennedy Center.”
The president was mostly hands off with the Kennedy Center during his first term, as most presidents have been. But he’s taking a special interest in it in his second term, touring the center and promising to weed out programming he doesn’t approve of. His “One Big Beautiful Bill” included $257 million for the building’s repairs and maintenance.
Originally, it was called The National Cultural Center. In 1964, two months after President Kennedy was assassinated, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation authorizing funds to build what would become the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Audio transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Kennedy Center seems to be getting a new addition to its name.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Yeah. The board of the famed Washington, D.C., cultural institution voted Thursday to change its name to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The president’s press secretary announced the news on social media, stating that it was a unanimous decision. And while the change has already taken effect on the center’s website, critics, including members of the Kennedy family, say this move requires congressional approval.
MARTIN: NPR’s Andrew Limbong is here to tell us more about this. Good morning, Andrew.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Hey, Michel.
MARTIN: So how did this all come about?
LIMBONG: Well, you know, this is something that the president has been teasing for a bit. I was actually at the Kennedy Center Honors a few weeks ago, where he, you know, appointed himself to become the first president ever to host that show. And he was playing coy with the press when they asked him about it, deferring to the board, but then noted how much effort he’s been putting into revitalizing the place. But, you know, actually, after the news was announced, Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty posted a video on social media claiming that, you know, during the call when the vote was held, the dissenting voices were silenced.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOYCE BEATTY: I was on that call. And as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted.
LIMBONG: Roma Daravi, the vice president of public relations at the center, told me that Representative Beatty is a nonvoting member. You know, Beatty is what’s called an ex officio member. She’s coming in from Congress and not appointed by the president. But Congresswoman Beatty’s office tells me that she has voted on Kennedy Center board matters in the past.
MARTIN: So we’re talking a lot about the board here. Can you tell us, like, who’s on it? Like, what’s the governance structure there?
LIMBONG: Yeah. Well, President Trump made himself the chair of the board earlier this year. He replaced the former chair, David Rubenstein, and also fired the former president, Deborah Rutter. And then he kicked out all of the members appointed by President Biden. And now the board is stacked with – you know, I think it’s fair to call them people loyal to the president. You got second lady Usha Vance, Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Attorney General Pam Bondi and more.
MARTIN: So those are the members appointed by the president, and then there are other members appointed by Congress.
LIMBONG: Congress, yeah.
MARTIN: And I think that’s the question, is, like, who really has the authority here. So then the other question is, is the board really allowed to rename the center?
LIMBONG: Yeah. Speaking of authority – like, so congressional Democrats, including Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, sent a statement stating that federal law prohibits changing the name without congressional action and that the president doesn’t have the legal authority to do so. And then they also noted that the incident with Congresswoman Beatty reflected a, quote, “troubling lack of transparency and respect for the rule of law.”
MARTIN: So Kennedy Center’s a really big deal in the Washington, D.C., area. And obviously, some people come in from all over the country and, frankly, the world to perform there. But for people who aren’t familiar with it, just what is it?
LIMBONG: Yeah. It’s, like, intended to be a public auditorium for the country, right? It was originally going to be called the National Cultural Center. And then in ’64, President Johnson signed legislation naming it the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a, quote, “living memorial” to President Kennedy, who was just assassinated a few months prior. And so, you know, the place hosts concerts and musicals and plays, and there’s a lot of free events. And it also helps, like, develop young playwrights and supports dance companies that can’t afford to tour. So it’s big locally and nationally.
MARTIN: And the president is really interested in it?
LIMBONG: I mean, he is now, right? He kind of ignored it, mostly, during the first term. But this time around, he’s made a big effort to exert his influence over it. He put in some money for it to repair and renovate the place in his One Beautiful Bill earlier this year. And he’s hosting the Honors, which is something that most presidents sort of, like, take a hands-off approach to.
MARTIN: That is NPR’s Andrew Limbong. Andrew, thank you.
LIMBONG: Thanks, Michel.
