JONATHAN TURLEY: Trump’s Kennedy Center name change will keep lawyers busy for years

"What’s successful a name? That which we telephone a rose, by immoderate different sanction would odor arsenic sweet." That question, posed by Juliet successful Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," seems to present inhabit overmuch of Washington. At a Christmas enactment with galore media from Washington, the question was enactment to maine much succinctly and repeatedly arsenic "can they bash that?" The "that" was the renaming of the Kennedy Center arsenic the Trump-Kennedy Center. Soon, courts whitethorn person to look this quintessentially Shakespearean question, "for ne'er was a communicative of much woe." 

Around Christmas, Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio subordinate of the board, announced her suit implicit the sanction change.  

As a threshold matter, I volition code the ineligible alternatively than argumentation ground for the change. Many of america chafed astatine the renaming of the center, which was a memorial to an assassinated president. However, what radical privation to cognize is whether the alteration tin beryllium challenged. The reply is yes, but it volition not needfully beryllium casual oregon definite successful its outcome. 

The halfway was originally built arsenic the National Cultural Center successful a 1958 law. It was renamed the John F. Kennedy Center by an enactment of Congress successful 1964 arsenic a surviving memorial.

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Workers instal Donald J. Trump supra the existent signage connected the Kennedy Center connected Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, successful Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

The cardinal contented is however that designation was made. It was contained successful a statute passed by Congress. Titled John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 20 U.S.C. 3, states that "no further memorials oregon plaques successful the quality of memorials shall beryllium designated oregon installed successful the nationalist areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts." 

There are exceptions successful sections 2 and 3 of the provision: 

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"(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not use to—

(A) immoderate plaque acknowledging a acquisition from a overseas country; 

(B) immoderate plaque connected a theatre seat oregon a theatre container acknowledging the acquisition of specified seat oregon box; and 

(C) immoderate inscription connected the marble walls successful the northbound oregon southbound galleries, the Hall of States, oregon the Hall of Nations acknowledging a large contribution; ...

(3) For purposes of this subsection, testimonials and payment performances shall not beryllium construed to beryllium memorials." 

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The connection supports a legislature intent to insulate the memorial from immoderate changes oregon dilutions. The specificity of the exceptions to plaques for donors suggests that different large changes, specified arsenic a sanction change, are barred nether national law. Moreover, the halfway is named by an enactment of Congress. It is hard to find immoderate authorization of the committee that would undo oregon delegate that power. 

President Donald Trump (L) presents histrion Sylvester Stallone (R) a medal for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees during a medal presumption successful the Oval Office of the White House connected December 6, 2025, successful Washington, DC. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)

There is simply a morganatic question whether a sanction alteration is an "additional memorial oregon plaque," but it would look to beryllium so. If a elemental plaque to donors had to beryllium expressly exempted, elephantine letters dedicating the halfway to an further idiosyncratic would look to autumn wrong the legislature intent.

Still, the Trump medication could punctuation the servant Sampson from "Romeo and Juliet" and archer a tribunal to "take it successful what consciousness thou wilt," but the statute does not expressly accidental that sanction changes are a memorial. 

Challengers could reason that, nether the board's interpretation, immoderate memorial established by Congress, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Kennedy Presidential Library, could beryllium renamed oregon hyphenated.  

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If a tribunal agrees that the statute reflects a wide legislature intent to barroom immoderate alteration to the memorial, the question is however it tin beryllium challenged.

In immoderate ineligible challenge, the vantage would apt remainder with the challengers if they tin conscionable the lasting requirements.

Kerry Kennedy, the girl of Robert F. Kennedy and sister of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced that, "Three years and 1 period from today, I’m going to drawback a pickax and propulsion those letters disconnected that building, but I’m going to request assistance holding the ladder. Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s paper today, truthful it’ll beryllium a national job!!!" 

I would not urge that approach. Most attorneys strive to support their clients from falling from large heights.  

The question is, who has lasting to situation the change. Are Kennedy household members injured successful a factual mode to fulfill standing? Associational lasting from humanities preservation groups tin beryllium tricky. However, immoderate whitethorn soon trial those waters. 

The astir evident mode to code the contented is for Congress to beryllium heard. It tin either ratify the committee decision, oregon it could expressly state the alteration to beryllium invalid and clarify that "additional memorial" encompasses immoderate sanction change. Either solution whitethorn beryllium hard with the heavy divided Congress. Soon a justice whitethorn articulation Romeo successful his lament: "O, thatch maine however I should hide to think!"

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In immoderate ineligible challenge, the vantage would apt remainder with the challengers if they tin conscionable the lasting requirements. Otherwise, the sanction could stay by default ... oregon until different medication decides to marque different alteration to the halfway antecedently known arsenic the Kennedy Center. 

Of course, contiguous Juliet mightiness resoluteness the naming occupation successful a akin manner with a hyphenated marital sanction of Juliet Capulet-Montague, though it intelligibly would person gone implicit arsenic poorly arsenic the Trump-Kennedy name. It intelligibly does not odor arsenic saccharine to many.

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I expect some tribunal and legislature enactment to follow. Absent a speedy solution by Congress (which seems unlikely), this could effect successful years of litigation. 

However, some sides mightiness beryllium omniscient to heed Shakespeare's informing successful different play that, "where 2 raging fires conscionable together, they bash devour the happening that feeds their fury." 

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