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The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a measure to rename the Kennedy Center Opera House in honor of former First Lady Melania Trump, advancing an amendment that could make her the first person to have one of the center’s major theaters named after them.
The proposal, introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, passed the committee in a 33-25 vote during a markup of the fiscal year 2026 funding bill for the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and related agencies, The Washington Post reported.
If adopted by Congress, the Opera House would be renamed the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” The theater is one of three primary stages at the Kennedy Center, along with the Eisenhower Theater and the Concert Hall, none of which have ever been renamed.
Simpson, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing interior and environmental funding, said the change is intended to recognize Melania Trump’s contributions to the arts during her time as first lady.
“This is an excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump’s] support and commitment to promoting the arts, and I would encourage members to vote for this Republican en bloc amendment,” Simpson said during the hearing.
First Lady Melania Trump is also honorary chair of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, a traditional role held by the spouses of presidents.
The name change was included in a broader funding bill that allocates $37 million for the Kennedy Center, a 17 percent decrease from the previous year and in line with President Trump’s proposed budget. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, criticized the funding shift, pointing out that the administration’s signature legislation, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” had previously allocated $250 million to the institution.
“The Republicans have now given the president six times the normal amount of money to run the Kennedy Center, carte blanche over who will be on the board, and how different parts of the Kennedy Center — perhaps the whole Kennedy Center itself — will be named, and this amendment confirms that,” Pingree said.
The measure still requires passage by the full House and Senate before taking effect.
