JUST IN: Lawmakers vote to name Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump – USA Today
House Republicans were singing from the same sheet music as the Trump administration July 22 when a key panel voted to name the Kennedy Center opera house after first lady Melania Trump, USA Today reported.
“This designation is an excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts,” said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who shepherded the Appropriations Committee’s spending bill that funds John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, opposed the change and alleged it’s part of giving Trump power to run the Kennedy Center “with very little oversight” from Congress.
“The Republicans snuck in, I think, something that is slightly divisive, which is renaming one section of the Kennedy Center after a family member of this administration,” Pingree said.
The committee voted 33-25 to adopt the name change as part of a larger amendment. The full House and the Senate would still have to vote on the proposal approved by the Appropriations Committee as part of the spending bill for the interior, environment and other agencies.