Sec. 2. Findings
192 words·~1 min read·
/bill/119/hr/6925/ih/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Congress established the National Cultural Center in 1958 to present musical programs, lectures, and other arts programs for youth and the elderly. Our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was particularly devoted to the advancement of the performing arts within the United States. Congress statutorily renamed the National Cultural Center the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964 following President Kennedy’s untimely death. On February 7, 2025, President Trump announced his intention to terminate members of the Kennedy Center and appoint himself as chair, an unprecedented action.
On December 18, 2025, it was announced that the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted unanimously to rename the Center The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts . Congress itself established the Kennedy Center and its Board of Trustees, and such a vote of the Board is clearly beyond its statutory authority. The renaming of any Federal building for a sitting President signals a slide towards authoritarianism.
Congress itself retains sole authority to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through statute.