Prior to changing its name to the Trump-Kennedy Center, its board reportedly adopted bylaws limiting voting to members appointed only by Donald Trump.
According to The Washington Post, the new bylaws were instituted in May, and specifically noted that members designated by Congress, known as ex officio members, could not vote or count toward a quorum.
Months later, the presidentially appointed board members unanimously voted to rebrand the venue as “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, said: “The bylaws were revised to reflect this longstanding precedent and everyone received the technical changes both before the meeting and after revisions. Some members (including ex officio) attended in person, others by phone, and no concerns were voiced, no one objected, and the bylaws passed unanimously.”
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The Washington Post contacted all of the Kennedy Center’s ex officio members. While some acknowledged that their current roles are nonvoting, none said whether they were aware of the bylaw changes in advance. Legal experts who spoke to The Post said the Kennedy Center’s statute is somewhat vague on the role of ex officio members, but suggested the Trump-appointed board may have overstepped its authority — and that the dispute is likely headed to court.
