Republicans move to rename Kennedy Center’s iconic opera house after Melania Trump

24 July 2025, 17:12 | Updated: 25 July 2025, 12:30

This comes months after President Donald Trump took over the performing arts centre.

US House Republicans are pushing to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House after Melania Trump.

The House Appropriations Committee has considered an amendment to an existing bill that would call for the theatre to be renamed as the ‘First Lady Melania Trump Opera House’.

The theatre is the second-largest in the Kennedy Center and the First Lady, following tradition, is an honorary chair of the organisation’s board.

Representative Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho, introduced the proposal as an amendment to a funding bill for the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other related agencies.

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“This is an excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump’s] support and commitment to promoting the arts, and I would encourage members to vote for this Republican en bloc amendment,” Simpson said.

Representative Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, told The Washington Post that the amendment was “divisive” and said that Republicans “snuck in, I think, something that is slightly divisive, which is renaming one section of the Kennedy Center after the family member of this administration”.

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Julia Bullock, Ailyn Pérez, Angel Blue, and Nadine Sierra - "Song to the Moon" for Renée Fleming

In February, President Trump fired members of the Kennedy Center’s board who were hired by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his picks, and the board then elected him as the new chair.

The Kennedy Center has historically been bipartisan, meaning that it is not affiliated with a political party. It describes itself as “the National Center for the Performing Arts”, and that its mission is to present “world-class art by the artists that define our culture today, delivers powerful arts education opportunities nationwide, and embodies the ideals of President Kennedy in all the Center’s activities provided throughout the living memorial.”

The creation of a National Culture Center in 1958 was made possible through bipartisan legislation signed by President Eisenhower. Then in 1962, both President John F. Kennedy and former President Eisenhower participated in a fundraising campaign for its construction, further emphasising bipartisan support for the Center.