GOP senator blocks bill barring Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center without Congress’ approval
WASHINGTON, DC: A Republican senator blocked a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from demolishing the Kennedy Center without clear approval from Congress.
The move kept alive one of the longest-running legal battles of Trump’s second term.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah intervened when Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, attempted to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act through unanimous consent.
Merkley co-authored the bill with Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. The proposal would have prohibited the president from demolishing any presidential memorial officially recognized by Congress, including the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, without direct congressional approval.
Mike Lee blocks Kennedy Center demolition bill
"First, he destroyed its programming, and now, he wants to destroy the building itself," Merkley wrote in a statement.
"All because the law says Trump can't put his name on the building." He called the president's threats "straight out of the authoritarian playbook".
Murkowski, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the center, said last week that lawmakers had authorized and funded substantial renovation work, but "what was not authorized is a demolition of the Kennedy Center".
Murkowski says Kennedy Center demolition unauthorized
The battle over the Kennedy Center began shortly after Trump returned to office.
He took control of the institution, ousted its board and replaced its members with his own allies, while criticizing what he called “woke” programming.
Trump’s newly appointed board voted last December to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center.
However, in May, Judge Christopher Cooper intervened, ruled the name change illegal and blocked the planned two-year closure.
Trump’s team made another attempt to add his name to the building in September, but Cooper rejected that effort as well. Following the ruling, Trump declared that the $257 million renovation would not move forward unless the decision was overturned.
In August, Justice Department lawyers warned in court filings that the building could be left to deteriorate until demolition became the only option. They also floated the idea of replacing it with an outdoor amphitheater.
A judge has since ordered that any demolition plans must be preceded by 30 days’ notice. For now, the center’s leadership has assured the court that the building will remain standing.
Mike Lee defends blocking bipartisan Senate bill
Lee has been closely aligned with Trump since 2020 and supported his efforts to overturn the results of that year’s presidential election.
More recently, he has repeatedly brought the Trump-backed SAVE Act, which would impose voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements, to the Senate floor.
In April, he also urged Trump to force lawmakers to return to Washington to end a partial government shutdown and pass the legislation.
Defending his objection to the bipartisan Kennedy Center bill, Lee told The Guardian, "Democrats should join us in lowering the cost of living and securing American elections instead of wasting the Senate's time with partisan scaremongering they haven't even tried to run through the appropriate committee process."
