Washington DC, 19 December (H.S.): The White House announced Thursday that the Kennedy Center board unanimously voted to rename the iconic performing arts venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, crediting President Donald Trump's interventions in its revival.

This decision, made by a board stacked with Trump appointees including allies like Richard Grenell and Usha Vance, follows his ouster of prior trustees and securing $257 million in congressional funds for renovations. Legal experts and Kennedy kin decry the move as bypassing a 1964 congressional law designating it a memorial to John F. Kennedy.

President Trump assumed chairmanship earlier this year after dismissing the existing board and installing loyalists, prompting resignations and event cancellations by artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Trump hailed the venue's prior disrepair during an Oval Office address, claiming personal credit for its fiscal and physical restoration amid falling ticket sales.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the vote on social media, yet Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty contested its unanimity, alleging her microphone was muted during the call.

Kennedy Family Denounces ObsessionJohn F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg lambasted the change on X, insisting microphones were silenced and linking it to his congressional bid. Niece Maria Shriver deemed it beyond wild and obsessive, while Joe Kennedy III equated it to defacing the Lincoln Memorial, citing federal statute.

Kerry Kennedy emphasized her father's values of justice and compassion, opposing Trump's alongside placement.

Legal Hurdles Loom Large

Enacted via S.J.Res. 136 in 1964 post-Kennedy's assassination, the naming demands congressional approval for alterations, as scholars note. A prior bill proposing the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House stalled, underscoring procedural barriers despite potential signage tweaks.

Critics frame Trump's arts meddling—evident in honoree picks like Sylvester Stallone—as politicizing a cultural bastion built in the 1950s.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar