Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) sued the Trump administration to remove Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The lawmaker is an ex-officio board member of the DC-based performing arts center. “The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Congresswoman in her capacity as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center by the Washington Litigation Group and Democracy Defenders Action. Congresswoman Beatty participated in the recent Board meeting and alleges she was prevented from speaking when she attempted to object to the renaming,” a press release stated. “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. “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,” she continued. Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty has sued President Trump, hoping to force the removal of his name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Read more: https://t.co/Iuwd16GcAn pic.twitter.com/fYcsCv7DHc — ABC News (@ABC) December 23, 2025 ABC News has more: Asked for comment on the lawsuit, White House spokesperson Liz Huston instead told ABC News in a statement that the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename it after Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center …” The White House announced last week that the board at the Kennedy Center, which Trump now chairs and is filled with his appointees, voted “unanimously” to rename the building the “Trump-Kennedy Center” — with workers adding Trump’s name to the facade of the building the next day. Beatty, however, said she was muted on the call during the vote and could not voice her opposition to the name change. Beatty told reporters last week that she tried to speak up to oppose the name change. “I said, ‘I have something to say,’ and I was muted, and as I continued to try to unmute, to ask questions and voice my opposition to this, I received a note saying that I would not be unmuted,” Beatty said to reporters. “I was not allowed to vote because I was muted. I would not have supported this.” “I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week. “Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she added. I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump… — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) December 18, 2025 The Hill shared further: On Friday, the Kennedy Center updated its signage on the outside of the building to include the president’s name. Critics, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), have argued the move is illegal. However, the center’s interim President Richard Grenell pushed back on that argument. “It’s now a bipartisan space reflecting the new era. Donald Trump saved it,” Grenell wrote on social media. The Trump administration launched an overhaul of the center earlier this year, changing programming and restricting performances deemed “inappropriate.”