Far-left United States Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH) has sued President Donald Trump over the decision made by the board of the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. to rename the institution the “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
For reference, Rep. Beatty is an ex officio trustee of the board of the institution. In her lawsuit, she alleges that the vote to rename the Kennedy Center is a “flagrant violation” of the law, as congressional approval is required for such a decision to rename the performing arts institution.
In her lawsuit, Rep. Beatty argued, “Congress intended the Center to be a living memorial to President Kennedy – and a crown jewel of the arts for all Americans, irrespective of party. Unless and until this Court intervenes, Defendants will continue to defy Congress and thwart the law for improper ends.”
Further, Rep. Beatty also wrote, in the complaint, “In scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American Republic, the sitting president and his handpicked loyalists renamed this storied center after President Trump. This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order.“
Others have made similar claims. Joe Kennedy III, for example, grandnephew of the former president and former congressman, said, “The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
In response to hearing that the board of the Trump-Kennedy center had voted to rename it, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “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, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”
She added, “Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”
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A community note on Press Secretary Leavitt’s post made the same argument as Rep. Beatty, arguing that Congressional authority is required to change the name and that has not yet been granted, saying, “The building is statutorily named the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Congress did not give the board the authority to change the name.”
President Trump, in any case, said that the move was an “unexpected” honor, telling the media, “I was surprised by it, and I was honored by it. We’re saving the building… That building was in such bad shape — both physically, financially, and in every other way… The Kennedy Center is really back strongly.”
Watch him here: