By Jim Thomas | Friday, December 19, 2025
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced he will introduce legislation prohibiting sitting presidents from naming federal buildings after themselves. The move follows the Kennedy Center board’s unanimous vote to add President Donald Trump’s name to the landmark Washington, D.C., arts complex.
Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, made the announcement 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.” In a post on X, Sanders wrote: “What arrogance,” referring to the president. “What narcissism.” He stated he would introduce legislation “prohibiting the naming of federal buildings after sitting presidents.”
The Kennedy Center updated its signage on Friday following the board’s decision. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., claimed the renaming was illegal and required congressional approval but did not cite specific 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 President John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. 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 proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer.” She added: “President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, stated 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” and saying: “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.”
Sanders has not yet formally introduced the legislation, and no bill text had been released as of Friday.
