Lawmaker sues to remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty has filed a lawsuit seeking to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Last week, the board of directors of the Kennedy Center, which Trump has filled with his allies, voted to change the name of the performing arts center to the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Beatty is one of several Democratic lawmakers designated as board members under U.S. law. In his lawsuit, he claimed that the renaming was illegal because changing the name required an “act of Congress.”

The lawsuit states that Beatty was called to a meeting about the name change, but was muted when he tried to voice his opposition.

Beatty argues that Congress intended the center to be a “living monument” to former President Kennedy.

“[I]”There are scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic; the incumbent President and his elected loyalists have renamed this historic center after President Trump,” the lawsuit states.

In a statement to the BBC, the White House said Trump “stepped in” and saved the Kennedy Center by “strengthening its finances, modernizing the building and ending divisive woke programs.”

“As a result, the Kennedy Center Board of Directors voted unanimously to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center, a historic move that signals a new era of success, prestige and renewed grandeur for one of America’s most iconic cultural institutions,” said White House spokeswoman Liz Huston. he said.

On Friday, the president’s name was added to the building’s exterior, and the center’s website logo now reads “Trump Kennedy Center.”

The name change was met with harsh criticism, especially in Washington, D.C., where the center has been an iconic landmark since it was built and named after Kennedy.

Construction of a performing arts center began in the 1950s, and after Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Congress decided to name it after him.

Shortly after taking office, Trump fired some of the center’s board members and replaced them with allies; they then voted to make him chairman of the board. His close advisor Richard Grenell became chairman of the board.

The center’s board of trustees currently includes 34 members appointed by Trump and 23 members designated as members under U.S. law, according to the center’s website.

Trump also secured around $257 million (£190 million) in congressional funding to cover major renovations and other costs at the venue, saying it was in “poor condition”.

Several members of the Kennedy family criticized the name change on social media.

“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and is named after President Kennedy in accordance with federal law,” said Joe Kennedy III, a former House member and great-nephew of the late president.

“No matter what anyone says, it cannot be renamed any more than someone would rename the Lincoln Memorial,” he added.