Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a Kennedy Center board member, is shutting down claims of a unanimous vote to rename the building after President Donald Trump.
On Dec. 18, Beatty took to X to push back against a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who claimed the board had “just voted unanimously” to rename the Kennedy Center the Trump-Kennedy Center, “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building,” she wrote.
“For the record. This was
not unanimous,” Beatty tweeted in response, along with a video message. “I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move. Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”In a video recorded from her congressional office in Washington, D.C., Beatty said she was on the Kennedy Center call but was blocked from voicing her opposition to the proposed name change.
“I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this,” she said. “I was muted. Each time I tried to speak.”
A community note has since been added to Leavitt’s tweet, noting that Congress formally established the Kennedy Center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the board was never granted authority to change its name. Beatty emphasized this in her video statement, saying, “Congress has a say in this.”
“This center, the
Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress,” she said. “I think it’s important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”Shortly after returning to office, Trump reshaped the Kennedy Center by removing appointed board members and installing allies, later naming himself chair of the institution. He also signaled plans to roll back DEI initiatives
, saying, “We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center.”In August, Trump hinted at renaming the venue when he referred to the “TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER” in a social media post previewing the Kennedy Center Honors. Earlier this month, he became the first sitting president to host the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, recognizing Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Crawford.
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