Trump didn’t wait.
This morning, The Kennedy Center suddenly added Trump’s name to the building established by law as a “living memorial” to a slain president.
Yesterday, when Trump suggested that ‘friends’ wanted his name on the building, there was quick pushback from Kennedy family members and Democratic leaders, who called it illegal and said only Congress could change the center’s name.
Only Congress has the authority to change the institution’s legal name, said Emily Sexton, a former lawyer for the Kennedy Center.
“Because the Kennedy Center is not just a federal institution or a performing arts center, but is a memorial to a slain president, changing the exterior signage feels different,” Sexton added. “It is arguably also a direct contravention” of the law prohibiting additional memorials in the building. “But that prohibition is only as good as having someone to enforce it, and it’s not clear who would do that.”