US Politics
Republicans push bill that would force Kennedy Center Opera House to be renamed after Melania Trump
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House Republicans are pushing to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House after Melania Trump.
The House Appropriations Committee considered an amendment to an existing bill Tuesday that would call for the theater to be renamed as the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” The measure passed 33-25, The Washington Post reports.
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.
“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.
The Opera House can hold more than 2,300 attendees and hosts the annual Kennedy Center Honors. The event is typically attended by high-profile celebrities and politicians, including the president.
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President Donald Trump broke tradition and skipped the celebration in 2017 “to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.” This came after one of the honorees threatened to boycott the event if Trump attended.
Representative Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, called the amendment “divisive,” the Post reports.
Pingree argues 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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Other Congressional Republicans have pitched similar ideas, including renaming a D.C.-area airport after Trump, putting Trump on the $100 bill and carving Trump’s face into Mount Rushmore.
The First Lady serves as the honorary chair of the Kennedy Center. In February, Trump fired members of the Kennedy Center’s board who were hired by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his picks. The board then elected him as the new chair.
The Trumps attended a Kennedy Center performance of the musical Les Misérables alongside Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance last month. Multiple cabinet members, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also attended.
The Trumps were met with a mix of boos and cheers as they entered the theater and took their seats.
