Bylaws that would limit voting to Trump-appointed trustees appears to reveal long-held renaming plan
The Kennedy Center reportedly adopted bylaws earlier this year that would limit voting to Donald Trump-appointed trustees – a controversial move that appears to reveal the long-held plan to install Trump’s name to the center.
The bylaws, in a possible breach of the institution’s charter, were revised in May and specified that board members appointed by Congress, known as ex-officio members, could not vote or count towards a quorum, according to the Washington Post.
The new rule was in force when the board voted unanimously on 18 December to add Trump’s name to the center, rebranding the building as the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
The name change has since triggered a wave of protests. Artists have cancelled bookings and members of Congress have vowed to overturn the name change. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, is even suing to reverse it on the grounds that changing the center’s name requires an act of Congress.
