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Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to the White House, as the US president extends his influence over the country’s cultural institutions.
The board of the Kennedy Center “have just voted unanimously” to rename the events hub “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday in a post on X.
Donald Trump has since the beginning of his term attempted to exert control over institutions that are considered by some conservatives to be liberal enclaves, such as Harvard University and international broadcaster Voice of America.
In February, the president installed a new board stacked with allies who elected him as chair. Trump has promised to cleanse the art venue of “woke influences” and “anti-American propaganda”.
His so-called One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which was passed over the summer, included almost $257mn “for necessary expenses for capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures” of the Kennedy Center.
Speaking about the renaming on Thursday, Trump said: “I was surprised by it. I was honoured by it.”
“We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, both physically, financially and every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong,” he added.
Some performers and others involved with the Kennedy Center’s operations protested the change of management when Trump first became chair. Actor Issa Rae and the team behind the musical Hamilton cancelled planned events.
Trump said the White House was going to push Congress and private donors to plough more money into the future Trump-Kennedy Center.
The Kennedy Center was named in honour of John F Kennedy after the then-president’s assassination. It was founded by an act of Congress. Democrats on Thursday said it was illegal for the board to rename the institution without congressional approval.
Joyce Beatty, a Democratic congresswoman from Ohio who sits on the Kennedy Center board as an ex officio member, said in a video posted to social media on Thursday that she was muted on the call when the vote was held.
“Clearly, the Congress has a say in this. This centre, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think it’s important to note that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say,” she said.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by James Politi in Washington