House Republicans want a First Lady Melania Trump Opera House at the Kennedy Center

Obviously a pressing issue currently facing the nation, the opera house is not currently named after anyone in particular. (Only the center’s Eisenhower Theater is named after a public figure; like the opera house, the Kennedy Center concert hall is named just that.) The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-25 in favor of the name change this afternoon; The Hill reports that it’s unclear when exactly the amendment could be put to a vote on the house floor, probably not helped by the fact that the house won’t be voting on anything while they hope the questions about the president’s well-documented friendship with a convicted child sex offender blow over. 

The news comes on the heels of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included $257 million in funds for a Kennedy Center remodel. Maine Democratic Representative Chellie Pingree characterized the funds as coming with “very little oversight” but granting a lot of authority over how that money will be spent.” Since reassuming the presidency in January, Donald Trump has invested a lot of attention in The Kennedy Center, replacing its existing staff with his own, who then chose him as chairman. Last month, the Trumps attended a performance of Les Misérables at the venue.