Lawmaker sues to remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

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

Last week, the Kennedy Center board — which Trump has filled with allies — voted to rename the performing arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Beatty is one of several Democratic lawmakers designated as board members by U.S. law. She claimed in her lawsuit that the name change was illegal because the name change requires “an act of Congress.”

The suit says Beatty called into the meeting about the name change but remained silent when she tried to voice her opposition.

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

“[I]In scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic – the sitting president and his hand-picked loyalists renamed this historic center in honor of President Trump,” the lawsuit says.

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

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

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

The name change drew sharp criticism, particularly in Washington, D.C., where the center has been an iconic landmark since it was built and named in Kennedy’s honor.

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

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

The center’s board of directors currently has 34 members appointed by Trump and another 23 members designated by U.S. law, according to the center’s website.

Trump also secured about $257 million (£190 million) in funding from Congress to fund major renovations and other costs at the site, saying it was in “poor condition”.

Several members of the Kennedy family took to social media to criticize the name change.

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

“No sooner can we rename it than anyone can rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” he added.