Today's News: Kennedy Center Board Votes to Rename as Trump-Kennedy Center

This decision, announced as unanimous by the White House and center officials, was met with immediate and widespread condemnation from Kennedy family members and Democratic lawmakers.

Terrence Dorsey

Dec 19, 2025

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Date: December 18, 2025
Summary: The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename the institution the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” citing President Donald Trump’s efforts to save it from financial and physical decline. This decision, announced as unanimous by the White House and center officials, was met with immediate and widespread condemnation from Kennedy family members and Democratic lawmakers, who questioned its legality and highlighted that federal law designates the center as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, requiring Congressional action for any name change. Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member, disputed the unanimity, stating she was muted when attempting to voice opposition during the virtual meeting.

Sources

Key Points

The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename the institution, incorporating President Donald Trump’s name into its title.
White House and Kennedy Center officials stated the vote was unanimous and attributed the renaming to President Trump’s efforts in saving the center from financial ruin and physical deterioration.
President Trump publicly expressed being “surprised” and “honored” by the board’s decision.
The renaming sparked significant backlash from members of the Kennedy family and Democratic lawmakers, who condemned the move as disrespectful to President John F. Kennedy’s legacy.
Concerns were widely raised regarding the legality of the board’s action, with critics arguing that federal law designates the center as a memorial to President Kennedy and requires Congressional approval for any name change.
Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, disputed the claim of a unanimous vote, stating she was muted and prevented from voicing her opposition during the meeting.
The renaming follows President Trump’s earlier actions to reshape the Kennedy Center’s board with his loyalists and influence its operations and programming since the beginning of his second term.

Unique Highlights

The New York Times details that the board meeting took place at the Palm Beach home of casino magnate Steve Wynn, with attendees including Richard Grenell, Lee Greenwood, and Sergio Gor, who proposed the name change. It also includes Steve Wynn’s quote about his 43-year friendship with Trump and Trump’s long-standing interest in the Kennedy Center, as well as Michael Kaiser’s statement that naming parts of the building for other individuals was never considered or permitted previously. The article mentions other instances of “Trumpification” in Washington.
CNN provides the full official new name as “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” It quotes Georgetown Law professor David Super on the complexities of legal standing for challenging the move and Maria Shriver’s specific comments on her uncle’s support for the arts. The article describes Trump’s aggressive plan to gut the existing board, oust its chairman, reshape leadership, secure funding, reimagine programming, cut staff, hire political allies, and mandate a “break-even policy” for performances, as well as his “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture” which is “not going to be woke.”
NBC News includes Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi’s statement about the new name reflecting “unequivocal bipartisan support.” Kerry Kennedy’s condemnation specifically mentions Trump’s administration repressing free expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians, and erasing history. The article references earlier comments from David Super in July stating that renaming would require Congressional permission and notes that the Kennedy Center informed some Pride event organizers they could no longer host certain gatherings. It also mentions the Kennedy Center being the site of FIFA’s World Cup draw.
The Washington Post lists additional loyalists installed on the board, including second lady Usha Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo. It includes an October analysis by The Washington Post indicating that ticket sales have fallen sharply in the center’s three largest venues since Trump’s takeover. George Stevens Jr., co-creator of the Kennedy Center Honors, is quoted stressing that only Congress can decide the building’s name. The article also provides examples of other renaming efforts by Trump’s allies, such as the United States Institute of Peace and “Trump accounts” for children, and quotes from public reactions to the renaming, including a retired marketing professional who will no longer attend and a former Republican fundraiser who is “shocked, but it is Trump town now.”
Fox News specifically names U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi as a board member. It cites an official with the center who pointed to “recent precedent” like the State Department’s decision to add Trump’s name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and past presidential administrations renaming military bases as justification for the board’s action.

Contrasting Details

Unanimity of the Vote: While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi stated the board’s vote was “unanimous” (The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post, Fox News), Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio board member, explicitly stated in The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post that she was muted and prevented from voicing her opposition during the call, thus disputing the unanimous claim. NBC News further cites Daravi pushing back on Beatty’s assertion, stating Beatty was granted “the privilege” to listen in, implying she may not have had voting or speaking rights as an ex-officio member. The Washington Post’s anonymous attendee confirmed Beatty tried to speak twice before virtual attendees were muted.
Legality of the Renaming: White House officials and Kennedy Center representatives, as reported by The New York Times and Fox News, suggested the administration disagreed with the legal interpretation that Congressional approval is needed or cited “recent precedent” for such actions. However, legal experts cited by CNN (David Super, Georgetown Law professor) and The Washington Post (David Super) unequivocally stated that federal law designates the center as a memorial and requires Congressional action to change its name. This view was echoed by members of the Kennedy family (Joe Kennedy III in The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post) and Democratic lawmakers (The New York Times, NBC News, The Washington Post), who asserted the board lacked the legal authority for such a change.
President Trump’s Prior Knowledge/Involvement: President Trump claimed he was “surprised” by the vote (The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post, Fox News). However, The New York Times notes he had been calling it the “Trump-Kennedy Center” for months in online posts, and The Washington Post states he had repeatedly joked about the name change, including at the Kennedy Center Honors earlier in the month. CNN also states his handpicked board approved his wishes, implying prior knowledge or direction.

The Newsie Project uses AI to summarize, compare, and contrast the reporting of the major US and world online news sources.

This is an evolving project. Tools, approaches, and output formats will change over time. The Newsie Project does not attempt to provide a definitive capsule of any news story. While the incidence of errors in these summaries is low, and I attempt to spot-check details, AI tools can hallucinate. Please click through and read the articles for details (some may be paywalled).

The Newsie Project

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?