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The leadership board of the prestigious performing arts venue has approved a measure to be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to a statement from the White House.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on social media that the board's approval was consensus, citing "the tremendous efforts President Trump has done over the last year in rescuing the building."
"This promises to be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt reach new levels of prestige and accomplishment," Leavitt added.
The planned renaming is shaping up as highly controversial, notably in Washington, D.C., where the center has stood as an architectural and cultural icon since its founding and original naming for President John F. Kennedy.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump replaced all the center's existing board members and installed loyalists in their positions. The freshly appointed board later moved to elect Trump chairman.
The president later secured approximately $257 million in congressional funding to pay for extensive repairs and operational expenses at the aging venue.
The concept for a Washington-based performing arts center began in the 1950s. Following the murder of President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president, in 1963, the then-under-construction venue was christened the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
This is a developing story. Additional information will be published soon.
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