US HR973

H. Res. 973 declares that renaming the Kennedy Center to "The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" violates the John F. Kennedy Center Act (Public Law 88-260), which designated the building as the sole national memorial to President Kennedy in Washington, DC.

On February 7, 2025, President Trump announced termination of multiple bipartisan Board of Trustees members and installed himself as Chairman; on February 12, 2025, the reconstituted board of more than 30 Trump appointees confirmed this arrangement and replaced the Center's President with Richard Grenell.

On December 18, 2025, the revised Board voted to rename the Center, and new signage was installed on December 19, 2025 without congressional authorization; ex-officio Members of Congress reported being muted and prevented from speaking during the vote.

The resolution calls for immediate restoration of the original "John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" signage and resignation of all officers and members appointed by President Trump to the Board of Trustees.

The resolution also notes broader context of arts funding cuts in 2025, including cancellation of more than 500 National Endowment for the Arts grants and more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities grants, plus proposed elimination of NEA, NEH, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the FY2026 budget.