Democratic lawmaker brings lawsuit challenging move to add Trump’s name to Kennedy Center
By Tierney Sneed, CNN
(CNN) — A new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC’s federal court Monday challenges the Kennedy Center board of trustees’ move to add President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is bringing the lawsuit. She alleges a recent vote by the Center’s board of trustees to add Trump’s name went beyond the authority given to the board by Congress.
“This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order,” she wrote in the filing.
Her complaint repeated an account she gave on social media of being muted on Zoom during the board meeting last week when she tried to speak up in objection to the vote. She said in the lawsuit that the vote and the addition of Trump’s name to the physical building the day after were “scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic.”
In a statement issued Tuesday to CNN, a spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said Beatty and all members were allowed to listen in on the meeting virtually or to attend in person.
“The entire board was invited to attend in person and the privilege of listening in on the meeting was granted to all members, even those without a vote, such as ex-officio member Joyce Beatty,” Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the center, told CNN.
Beatty is being represented by Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group. There had not been any request for emergency intervention filed to the case’s docket as of Monday evening.
“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center. President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego,” Beatty said in a statement. “This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves. These unlawful actions must be blocked before any further damage is done.”
Congress renamed the arts center after former President John F. Kennedy in legislation passed after his 1963 assassination, and federal law requires that the board “assure that after December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
Daravi, the center spokesperson, said in a statement: “The Kennedy Memorial is not impacted at all.”
Experts told CNN last week that while the board’s decision was likely unlawful, it’s unclear whether someone looking to challenge the move would have the legal right – known as “standing” – to even pursue such a case. “There is absolutely no way they can do this legally,” said David Super, a professor at Georgetown Law who specializes in legislation. But, he added, “the administration is not concerning itself with laws unless it has a realistic prospect of getting sued.”
New signage featuring the president’s name was installed the day after the vote.
Trump has touted his influence on the performing arts center, and he claimed last week that the institution is experiencing “record-setting numbers” in donors.
“We’re saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, both physically, financially and every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong,” he said.
CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.
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