Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Friday he will introduce legislation barring sitting presidents from naming federal buildings after themselves, escalating a political dispute triggered by the Kennedy Center board's vote to add President Donald Trump's name to the landmark Washington, D.C., arts complex.
Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, announced the proposal hours after the Kennedy Center confirmed new signage reflecting the name "Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
"What arrogance," Sanders wrote on the social platform X, referring to the president. "What narcissism.
"I will be introducing legislation prohibiting the naming of federal buildings after sitting presidents."
Sanders' post included a Reuters video detailing the Kennedy Center board's unanimous vote to approve the renaming, adding Trump's name alongside that of President John F. Kennedy.
The Kennedy Center updated its signage on Friday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the renaming was illegal and required congressional approval, but he did not cite federal law governing the designation.
His assertion was disputed by the center's interim president, Richard Grenell, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and Trump ally.
"The decision of the Trump Kennedy Center Board doesn't impact the Memorial to Kennedy set up by Congress," Grenell wrote early Friday on X.
The Kennedy Center was authorized by Congress in 1958 as a national cultural center and designated a living memorial to the 35th president after his assassination in 1963, according to the center's official history.
A board appointed by the president oversees governance.
The board's decision prompted objections from several members of the Kennedy family.
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said President John F. Kennedy, her uncle, "proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer."
"President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy's," she said.
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, said on Thursday that the center was "a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law."
Trump praised the Kennedy Center board after the vote, calling its members "the most distinguished people in the country."
"We saved the building because it was in such bad shape, physically, financially, and in every other way, and now it's very solid, very strong," he told reporters.
Sanders has not yet formally introduced the legislation, and no bill text had been released as of Friday.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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