What’s in a name? The Kennedy Center, Trump and the fight over who decides

The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to rename the venue to a Trump-Kennedy title, a move that immediately raised the question of whether the board even has the power to change the name.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the vote was unanimous and framed the rebrand as recognition of President Donald Trump’s role in “saving the building.”

CNN reported that Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the board, attempted to object to the vote but was muted.

Leavitt described the new name as the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” while The Washington Post reported the board voted for a longer formal title: “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Trump is currently serving as chairman of the Kennedy Center board, and the decision follows a year of major changes at the institution. Trump became chair during an overhaul that included firing the center’s president.

But even if the trustees can adopt a new branding or nickname in marketing, legal experts told The Washington Post that renaming a federal institution like the Kennedy Center typically requires congressional approval — and the center did not immediately lay out a clear legal basis for the board to unilaterally change the name established in law.

The performing arts complex was originally created as the National Cultural Center, and it became the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after Congress passed — and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed — legislation on Jan. 23, 1964, formally changing the name, per the Kennedy Center’s website.

Reaction was swift. The Associated Press reported criticism from some members of the Kennedy family, including Maria Shriver, a niece of John F. Kennedy, who called the move “insane” when it was first brought up in July.

“It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” she wrote in a social media post. “Truly, what is this about? It’s always about something. ‘Let’s get rid of the Rose Garden. Let’s rename the Kennedy Center.’ What’s next?”

After the board’s vote on Thursday, Shriver posted again, saying, “Some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief. At times such as that, it’s better to be quiet. For how long, I can’t say.”

The AP pointed to renovation and funding efforts as part of the justification for the change, and noted Trump has already leaned into the new name in his own comments about the institution.