Trump-appointed board moves to rename Kennedy Center after sitting president

The Trump administration says the board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has voted to rename the iconic Washington arts institution after the current US president, a move that would overturn a decades-old congressional decision to honour the assassinated leader.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the decision on Thursday, saying the Trump-appointed board had unanimously backed renaming the venue the “Trump-Kennedy Center”.

“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center,” Leavitt wrote on social media.

She framed the move as recognition of “the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building”, crediting him with overseeing reconstruction efforts and improving the centre’s finances and “reputation”.

What remains unclear is whether the name change can legally take effect without congressional approval. The Kennedy Center’s name is закреплено in federal law, meaning any formal renaming would almost certainly require an act of Congress.

The arts complex opened in 1971 and serves as the home of the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra. It includes seven performance spaces and hosts a mix of touring productions and local programming.

Although plans for a national arts centre predated John F Kennedy’s presidency, the project became closely associated with him after his assassination in 1963. Kennedy had actively supported fundraising efforts that helped turn the concept into a reality.

On January 23, 1964, President Lyndon B Johnson signed legislation officially naming the building the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The law designated it as a “living memorial” to the late president, noting that Kennedy had been “particularly devoted to the advancement of the performing arts”.

“It is only fitting and proper that a suitable monument be dedicated to the memory of this great leader,” the act declared, adding that no other memorial would be erected in Kennedy’s honour in Washington, DC.