Republican lawmakers are pushing to rename the opera house at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., after First Lady Melania Trump. The proposal, introduced by a GOP member of the House Appropriations Committee, is attached to a spending bill for the Department of the Interior and other agencies, as first reported by The New York Times.
The legislation still requires approval from the full U.S. House of Representatives.
Changes at the Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump has shown a strong interest in the Kennedy Center since the start of his second term. He named himself chairman just days after taking office and dismissed the entire board appointed by former President Joe Biden. He also removed the center’s president, Deborah F. Rutter, as well as its chairman, David M. Rubenstein.
Traditionally, the first lady serves as the honorary chair of the Kennedy Center.
Trump’s cultural overhaul
The move aligns with Trump’s pledge to reshape the Kennedy Center’s programming.
In a February post on Truth Social, the president wrote: “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPOGANDA– ONLY THE BEST.”
In June, Trump and First Lady Melania attended the musical “Les Misérables” at the center, where they were met with protests from drag performers and others.
In response, a handful of Democratic senators threw a LGBTQ+ pride concert at one of the theaters in the center.
$250 million boost in federal funding
The push to rename the John F. Kennedy Center Opera House follows passage of what Republicans call the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping spending package Trump signed into law this summer.
That legislation allocates more than $250 million to the Kennedy Center, which is roughly six times its typical federal funding.
The vote to rename
The amendment to rename the venue passed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment by a 33-25 vote, mostly along party lines.
It was introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who serves as the chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.
Simpson released a statement following the vote that said naming the theater after the first lady “is an excellent way to recognize her appreciation for the arts.”
Democratic pushback
However, not all were pleased with the effort to rename the opera house after Melania Trump.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, who serves on the House subcommittee, criticized the move.
“It’s just another assault on this whole lineup of the president taking control of the Kennedy Center,” Pingree told The New York Times over the phone. “It seems outrageous to me. There’s no public consensus around this. It also leads me to wonder, does the president plan to rename the whole Kennedy Center after himself?”
A break from tradition
Renaming major venues at the Kennedy Center is rare. Naming rights are typically awarded in exchange for large private donations — sometimes exceeding $100 million, according to the Times.
As a result, renaming the opera house in honor of Melania Trump could restrict some fundraising efforts for the center.
Still, there is some precedent. Another major venue at the center is named after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
About the opera house
The opera house is the Kennedy Center’s second-largest theater, with a capacity of 2,347 seats, according to the center’s website.
It is best known as the home of the Kennedy Center Honors, which celebrates lifetime achievements in the performing arts.
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Author: Craig Nigrelli
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