Republican lawmakers have approved an amendment to a spending bill that would rename the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington after the first lady, Melania Trump. The proposal was introduced by Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee as part of a spending bill for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies. The legislation would require approval from the full House.
Mr. Trump has shown fervent interest in the performing arts center in his second term, naming himself its chairman shortly after returning to office. He purged the Kennedy Center board of Biden appointees and ousted both the center’s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, and its chairman, David M. Rubenstein. By tradition, the first lady serves as the honorary chair of the performing arts center.
The Opera House is the second-largest theater in the Kennedy Center, with more than 2,300 seats. The venue hosts the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation’s highest annual awards recognizing lifetime contributions to the arts. Performing arts centers typically grant naming rights in response to large gifts, sometimes of $100 million or more, so the new name could limit the center’s fund-raising opportunities.
Mr. Trump has taken the position that the programming at the Kennedy Center needs to be overhauled. In June, drag queens showed up in protest when Mr. and Mrs. Trump attended the opening night performance of “Les Misérables.”
