‘Complete disgrace’: Lawmaker sues to undo Trump rebranding of DC landmark

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to force the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, arguing that the move violated federal law and the Constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, names Trump and several loyalists he appointed to the Kennedy Center’s board as defendants. Beatty contends that the board’s vote last week to rename the Washington, D.C., cultural institution was illegal because only Congress has the authority to change the center’s name.

Norman Eisen, Beatty’s attorney and a former White House ethics counsel under former President Barack Obama, said the name change “violates the Constitution and the rule of law because Congress said this is the name.”

“The President and his sycophants have no lawful authority to rename the Kennedy Center,” Eisen added in a statement.

Trump, whose board installed him as its chair, sparked the lawsuit after his name was added to the exterior of the building Friday morning. The storied institution’s website and social media accounts soon followed and began referring to it as the “Trump Kennedy Center,” according to reports. A senior White House official previously told The New York Times that the administration rejects the argument that congressional approval is required and does not expect lawmakers to intervene.

Beatty, who brought the lawsuit in her capacity as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, said she attempted to object during the meeting when the name change was approved – but was unable to do so.

“Everything was cut off,” Beatty said of the call, according to the Times. “And then they immediately said, ‘Well, it’s unanimous. Everybody is for it.’”

In a statement Monday, Beatty called the episode a “complete disgrace.”

“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center,” the lawmaker said. “President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego. 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.”