A controversial rule change at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year appears to have been a crucial step in the process of adding former President Donald Trump's name to the iconic Washington DC institution, a move that has since ignited a firestorm of protest.
Rule Change Limits Voting Power
According to a report by the Washington Post, the centre's bylaws were revised in May 2024. The new rules specified that board members appointed by Congress, known as ex-officio members, could no longer vote or be counted towards a quorum. This effectively limited voting power to trustees appointed by the president.
This change was in force when the board voted unanimously on 18 December 2024 to rebrand the building as the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Legal scholars argue this may breach the centre's charter, which intended governance by a broad group, not just presidential appointees.
Trump's Rapid Reshaping of the Board
The vote followed a swift transformation of the board after Trump took over as chair in February 2024. He purged sitting members and installed loyalists, including his longtime foreign policy adviser, Ric Grenell, whom he appointed as president of the centre. Grenell, a vocal proponent of Trump's 'America First' ideology, had previously served as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence.
The centre lists 34 presidentially appointed board members and 23 ex-officio members. By law, the latter must include figures like the mayor of Washington DC and congressional leaders, who are charged with maintaining the venue as a memorial to President John F Kennedy.
Backlash and Plummeting Ratings
The name change has triggered significant backlash. Artists have cancelled bookings and members of Congress have vowed to overturn it. Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio has filed a lawsuit arguing that changing the centre's name legally requires an act of Congress.
The controversy coincides with new figures showing a sharp decline in the television audience for this year's Kennedy Center Honors. The broadcast, hosted by Trump himself and featuring artists like Gloria Gaynor and Kiss, attracted a record low audience of 3.01 million viewers on CBS, a 25% drop from the previous year.
In a further contentious move, Trump used his Truth Social platform to post criticisms of the Kennedy family's support for the centre mere hours after the family announced the death from leukaemia of JFK's granddaughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, aged 35.
The Kennedy Center's vice-president for public relations, Roma Daravi, told the Post the bylaw revision merely reflected a longstanding convention that ex-officio members did not vote, and said the changes passed without objection.
