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Top House, Senate Interior Appropriators Lead Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Demolition of the Kennedy Center
The bicameral, bipartisan effort comes amid recent threats from President Trump that the living memorial to JFK could be ‘ripped down’ unless his name is added to the building
Washington,
September 29, 2026
Tags:
My Work on the Appropriations Committee
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Supporting the Arts
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My Work as Ranking Member on the House Interior Appropriations
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Members of the House and Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittees, today unveiled legislation to protect presidential monuments like the Kennedy Center from demolition. The bicameral, bipartisan Protecting Presidential Memorials Act would prohibit any Congressionally designated memorial honoring a U.S. President—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial—from being demolished unless authorized by an act of Congress.
“The Kennedy Center is our nation’s living memorial to President John F. Kennedy—someone who truly cherished the arts. For Donald Trump to attempt to usurp this great memorial by putting his own name above JFK’s—and then threaten to demolish the building if he doesn’t get his way—is beyond the pale,” said Pingree. “When Congress designates a place to memorialize a president, no administration should be able to tear it down on a whim. This bill establishes a simple safeguard: if Congress created the designation, only an act of Congress can authorize its demolition.”
“Trump’s threats to tear down the Kennedy Center—all because the law says he can’t put his name on the building—are straight out of the authoritarian playbook and should infuriate every American who values our history and the rule of law,” said Merkley. “The Kennedy Center is one of our nation’s great contributions to the human spirit, honoring our slain president who championed the arts. This one-page bill is a straightforward solution to protect this treasure and other presidential memorials.”
On Monday night, Merkley attempted to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act—which he co-led with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—by unanimous consent in the Senate, but that effort was blocked by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
The National Cultural Center was established by Congress in 1958, renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy shortly after his death, and opened to the public in 1971. For more than 50 years, it has celebrated artistic excellence, fostered creativity and reflected Kennedy’s steadfast belief that equitable access to the arts is essential to democracy.
Pingree, who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus, has been a leading voice in Congress to protect the Kennedy Center since Trump installed himself as board chair in 2025. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Pingree successfully stripped language from the 2026 Appropriations bill that would have renamed the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump.
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