Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed a lawsuit against President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees after it renamed the site as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The lawsuit requests that the court declare the renaming vote unlawful, asserting that it is a “flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order.”
“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,” the filing argues. “Unless and until this Court intervenes, Defendants will continue to defy Congress and thwart the law for improper ends.”
“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center. President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego,” Beatty said in a statement. “This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves. These unlawful actions must be blocked before any further damage is done.”
Last week, Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, confirmed that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees “voted unanimously” to “name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
“The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction,” she wrote on X. “The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”
