IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 973 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the designation 
of the ‘‘Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center 
for the Performing Arts’’ constitutes a violation of Federal law, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 30, 2025 
Mr. LYNCH submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the designation of the ‘‘Donald J. Trump and the John 
F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts’’ 
constitutes a violation of Federal law, and for other 
purposes. 
Whereas Public Law 88–260, the John F. Kennedy Center 
Act enacted by Congress on a bipartisan basis in 1964, 
designated the National Cultural Center in Washington, 
DC, as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing 
Arts in honor of the dedication of President John F. 
Kennedy to the advancement of the welfare of mankind 
and the performing arts, in appreciation of his service 
with distinction as President of the United States and as 
a Member of the United States Senate and House of 
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Representatives, and out of respect to the great loss en-
dured by the Nation and the world as a result of his un-
timely death; 
Whereas, in further dedication to the memory of President 
Kennedy, Congress expressly mandated that the John F. 
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts shall be the sole 
national memorial to the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy 
located within the city of Washington and its environs; 
Whereas, in signing Public Law 88–260, President Lyndon 
B. Johnson acknowledged that in life, President Kennedy 
actively participated in the development of the former 
National Cultural Center, considering that he ‘‘delighted 
not only in the classic forms through which our civiliza-
tion has found expression, but also in the popular arts of 
today, with their variety, their humor, and the capacity 
to touch the lives of all of our people’’; 
Whereas President Johnson additionally recognized that des-
ignating the former National Cultural Center in memory 
and honor of President Kennedy was ‘‘entirely fitting’’ 
given that President Kennedy personally approved the de-
sign of the building and expressed the hope that he might 
see it completed during his term of office; 
Whereas President Johnson further acknowledged that the 
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ‘‘is not 
simply a Washington building’’ but rather a ‘‘national in-
stitution’’ that will endure to honor a great man and en-
rich American life; 
Whereas the John F. Kennedy Center Act also expressly pro-
hibits the designation and installation of additional me-
morials and plaques in the public areas of the John F. 
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; 
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Whereas, on February 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump 
announced on social media that he would immediately 
terminate multiple individuals from the bipartisan Board 
of Trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Per-
forming Arts, including the Chairman, and install himself 
as Chairman; 
Whereas a public statement subsequently released by the 
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on 
February 7, 2025, stated that ‘‘this would be the first 
time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Cen-
ter’s Board’’; 
Whereas, on February 12, 2025, the revised Board of Trust-
ees, now consisting of more than 30 individuals solely ap-
pointed by President Trump, voted to designate Presi-
dent Trump as Chairman and replace the President of 
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 
with an Interim President, Richard A. Grenell, former 
Acting Director of National Intelligence under President 
Trump; 
Whereas, on December 18, 2025, White House Press Sec-
retary Karoline Leavitt announced on social media that 
the revised Board of Trustees for the John F. Kennedy 
Center for the Performing Arts had ‘‘unanimously’’ voted 
to redesignate the building as the Trump-Kennedy Cen-
ter; 
Whereas several Members of Congress who also serve as ex- 
officio members of the Board of Trustees, including the 
Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, sub-
sequently reported that during the Board of Trustees 
meeting leading up to the vote, meeting participants were 
prevented from speaking, with one ex-officio member and 
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Member of Congress even muted and not permitted to 
voice opposition to the building redesignation; 
Whereas, on December 19, 2025, new signage redesignating 
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as 
‘‘The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memo-
rial Center for the Performing Arts’’ was installed on the 
building exterior absent congressional authorization; 
Whereas, since taking office on January 20, 2025, President 
Trump has sought to terminate millions of dollars in 
Federal arts and humanities grants that Congress pre-
viously enacted on a bipartisan basis; 
Whereas, in 2025, President Trump canceled more than 500 
congressionally appropriated grants administered by the 
National Endowment for the Arts, terminating Federal 
funding directed to State and local art agencies, edu-
cational institutions, community theaters, and other orga-
nizations and individuals that support arts education na-
tionwide and leading to the departure of every discipline 
director at the agency; 
Whereas, in 2025, President Trump canceled more than 
1,400 congressionally appropriated grants administered 
by the National Endowment for the Humanities, termi-
nating Federal funding for State humanities councils, 
schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations that seek 
to expand public accessibility to humanities programs 
such as teacher training, historical lectures, adult edu-
cation, book festivals, and art exhibitions; 
Whereas the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget submitted by Presi-
dent Trump to Congress proposed the outright elimi-
nation of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Na-
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tional Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute 
of Museum and Library Services; 
Whereas, in 2025, President Trump has implemented sweep-
ing staffing cuts undermining the critical missions of 
Federal arts and education agencies, including mass lay-
offs affecting more than two-thirds of the workforce at 
the National Endowment for the Humanities; and 
Whereas, according to the nonpartisan American Alliance for 
Museums, in 2025, one-third of American museums have 
already reported canceled Federal Government grants or 
contracts, including funding administered by the National 
Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for 
the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Li-
brary Services, with many institutions forced to cancel 
critical facility improvements and public programing for 
students, rural communities, individuals with disabilities, 
seniors, and veterans: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the designation of ‘‘The Donald J. Trump 
and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the 
Performing Arts’’ by the Board of Trustees con-
stitutes a violation of Federal law and contravenes 
the express intent of Congress to solely honor, with 
a national monument, President John F. Kennedy 
and his appreciation and promotion of the arts; 
(2) the original signage for the John F. Ken-
nedy Center for the Performing Arts should be im-
mediately restored; and 
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(3) all officers and members appointed by 
President Trump to the Board of Trustees should 
promptly resign their positions. 
Æ 
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