"It's a disgrace": Dems rage over "Trump-Kennedy Center" renaming
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries exits his office at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 18. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
House Democrats responded with swift fury on Thursday after the Kennedy Center board purportedly voted unanimously to rename the performing arts center to the "Trump-Kennedy Center."
Why it matters: Democrats argue the name change can't be done without an act of Congress, and they're vowing to fight back in any way they can.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters: "The Kennedy Center Board has no authority to actually rename the Kennedy Center in the absence of legislative action, and we're going to make that clear."
- "It's a disgrace," added Jeffries, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board. "It's an embarrassment."
Driving the news: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote Thursday afternoon in a post on X that the board "just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center."
- The renaming, she claimed, was "because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building."
- The name "John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" is written into the law that authorized the creation of the venue.
What happened: Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), another ex-officio member of the board, tried unsuccessfully to speak out against the move during the virtual meeting at which the vote took place, she told Axios.
- "All of a sudden, when they heard me expressing opposition to it, I was no longer able to speak," she said. "I was cut off and received a screen that said I could not unmute myself ... I had questions, concerns."
- "Certainly, this was not a unanimous vote."
- Jeffries and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), House Democrats' third ex-officio member, told Axios they were not present for the meeting.
What they're saying: "Like most things Trump does, they are temporary or not real. Same goes for this one," Larsen told Axios.
- "Congress named the Kennedy Center to honor the slain President. ... Nothing Trump does will change it. And if he defaces the place with his name, we will spackle it over," Larsen added.
- Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who leads Democrats on a panel that oversees the center's finances, told reporters, "It is our living monument to JFK. We didn't build him another big statue on the mall."
What to watch: Pingree said Democrats are "looking for any kind of legal action we could take" and have "been in touch with as many people as we can."
- She said Democrats are also organizing a letter "immediately" to "try to let them know how upset we are about this."
- Jeffries, however, signaled that fighting the name change will not be a high priority for Democrats, telling Axios his party is "fighting hard to make sure that we restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits."
