In a decisive move, the Board of Trustees at the Kennedy Center has unanimously decided to rename the venue as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts. Spokeswoman Roma Daravi announced that this renaming is a tribute to Trump’s contributions to the center since he assumed command during his second term.

This decision has sparked legal debates over whether the board possesses the authority to alter the name of the arts center, originally designated by Congress in 1964 as a memorial to the Democratic president. The Kennedy family has voiced their disapproval of the change.

Trump, who ascended to the position of chair through a newly restructured board in February, has often humorously referred to the center as the “Trump Kennedy Centre.” According to sources familiar with the proceedings, the board, appointed by Trump, endorsed the renaming during a meeting on Thursday, where Trump also participated via call.

Later that day, during an event in the Oval Office, Trump expressed his surprise and gratitude for the board’s decision, describing himself as “honoured.”

“One of the highly respected board members proposed this, and it was put to a vote. There are quite a number of board members, and they all voted in favor,” Trump stated.

By Thursday afternoon, the centre’s website header was updated to read “The Trump Kennedy Centre.”

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X. “The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”

While the White House said the vote was unanimous, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said that was not the case.

“I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted,” she said in a video posted to X.

Legality concerns and Kennedy family pushback

Questions remain, however, about the legality of the board’s move to rename the building, and members of the Kennedy family condemned the effort on Thursday.

“The Kennedy Centre is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman and the great-nephew of the late president, said on X. “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

Jack Schlossberg, a Kennedy grandson currently running for the US House in New York, also expressed concerns on social media with reports of muting during the vote.

Congress renamed the arts centre after former President John F. Kennedy in legislation passed after his 1963 assassination, and federal law requires that the board “assure that after December two, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.”

Experts told CNN that while the board’s decision Thursday was likely unlawful, it’s unclear whether someone looking to challenge the move would have the legal right – known as “standing” – to even pursue such a case.

“There is absolutely no way they can do this legally,” said David Super, a professor at Georgetown Law who specialises in legislation. But, he added, “the administration is not concerning itself with laws unless it has a realistic prospect of getting sued.”

Super said it’s possible that an employee of the centre could try to bring a case challenging the renaming by pointing to a “reputational harm” that stems from having to put the new name on their resume, which they may claim has the potential to confuse prospective employers.

“I would not be optimistic that a court would accept that case,” he said.

The same goes for descendants of the late 35th president, Super told CNN. “If he were living, then he probably could sue, but I don’t think it’s clear that his heirs would have any right to sue on his behalf,” he said.

“He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists,” she said in a post on X. “It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy.”

Inside Trump’s transformation of the arts centre

Thursday’s vote marks the latest effort to leave Trump’s mark on the Kennedy Centre.

Days after returning to office, Trump announced an aggressive plan to gut the existing board of trustees and oust its chairman, the billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein. Since then, he’s led an effort to reshape the institution to his taste: reshaping its leadership, securing multimillion-dollar congressional funding for renovations, and reimagining its programming.

He installed a who’s who of loyalists — including new president Richard Grenell, his ambassador to Germany during his first term, who’s been re-evaluating programming and targeting it “for the masses.” Grenell has cut the existing staff, hired political allies and mandated a “break-even policy” for every performance and facility rental.

Trump has also touted restoration of the building’s exterior marble, the interior chairs and “fully” renovated stages, which he says will be complete within a year.

The changes extend to what’s onstage too, as the president has sought to enact a “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” saying the “Trump Kennedy Centre” is “not going to be woke.”

Trump on Thursday said that under his administration the centre has seen “record-setting numbers” in donors and previewed plans to get Congress to invest more money in the centre.

“We’re saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, both physically, financially and every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong,” he said.