Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on Sunday that living public officials should not have buildings named after them and proposed a rule to prohibit such renaming efforts. His remarks came as a new federal ad promoting President Donald Trump appeared on multiple networks, funded by the government, as Kennedy spoke.
Kennedy made the comments during an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” hosted by Margaret Brennan. He argued that public officials, including Trump, should not “spend public money on private ads for themselves.” He then went further, suggesting a ban on living politicians having buildings named after them.
“I may end up with a sombrero on my head, but I also think we ought to have a rule that no politician can have a building named after him when he’s alive,” Kennedy said, referring to Trump mocking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., last year by sharing AI videos of the lawmakers wearing sombreros.
The Kennedy Center fight
The controversy over the Kennedy Center began when Trump pushed to rename the building after himself. The effort has dragged through courts for years, with federal judges blocking multiple attempts by the center’s board — handpicked by Trump — to add the president’s name to the building.
Trump’s name was briefly added to the building’s facade, but it was ordered removed after courts ruled that only Congress holds the authority to change the center’s name. The State Department added Trump’s name last year to the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Former institute officials removed by the Trump administration filed a court motion earlier this month to block construction crews from putting the president’s name onto the outside of the building.
Trump’s broader push
Trump has sought to rename other prominent federal buildings in Washington, D.C., after himself since returning to the White House last year. The pattern is familiar:
- The Kennedy Center, where the fight started.
- The U.S. Institute of Peace, where the name was added last year.
- Penn Station in New York and Dulles Airport in the D.C. area, which Trump suggested naming after himself as a condition for a funding deal earlier this year.
- The Lincoln Memorial promenade, which Trump floated as the “Trump Promenade.”
Trump’s plans have met resistance at every turn. Courts have repeatedly blocked the center’s board from adding his name, and former officials are fighting to keep the institute’s name intact.
The ad that ran during the interview
As Kennedy spoke, a new federal ad promoting Trump appeared on multiple networks. The ad was funded by the government, and its appearance during the interview underscored the tension Kennedy was describing.
The ad ran while Kennedy argued that public officials should not spend public money on private ads for themselves. The irony was immediate, though Kennedy did not address the timing directly.
What Kennedy’s rule would mean
Kennedy’s proposal would create a rule barring politicians from having buildings named after them while they are still alive. The idea is simple: a building named after a living person is a monument to a current officeholder, and Kennedy wants to stop that.
The rule would apply to everyone, including Trump. Kennedy noted that he might end up with a sombrero on his head — a reference to the mockery he faced — but he still thinks the rule should stand.
The rule would also apply to future presidents. Any sitting official could see their name stripped from a building if the rule were adopted.
The legal fights continue
The fight over the Kennedy Center is far from over. The center’s board remains handpicked by Trump, and the board has kept pushing for the name change.
Federal judges have blocked those attempts, but the board has not given up. The latest court motion from former institute officials adds another layer to the dispute, with construction crews facing legal challenges as they try to put Trump’s name on the building.
The Lincoln Memorial promenade plan remains in limbo. Trump said at the time, “They want to call it the Trump Promenade, but I don’t know if I want to do that, but it’s going to be beautiful.”
The courts will likely have the final word on all of these cases.
The White House position
The White House has not publicly defended the naming efforts beyond asserting that only Congress holds the authority to rename the Kennedy Center. Kennedy’s rule targets precisely that gap — the space between what the board wants and what the law allows.
Kennedy disagrees. He sees the renaming efforts as personal promotion paid for with public funds.
The disagreement is a clash between two views of government. One side wants to honor the office; the other wants to protect the public purse.
What happens next
Kennedy’s rule faces an uncertain path. It is a proposal, not a law, and it would need congressional approval to become binding.
The legal fights over the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace will continue regardless. The courts have already spoken, and the board’s attempts have been blocked.
The Penn Station and Dulles Airport plans remain proposals, not decisions. The Lincoln Memorial promenade is still being discussed.
For now, the fight continues. Kennedy has made his position clear, and the ads keep running.
Our take
The paper takes the side of restraint in this story. Public money should not fund personal promotion, and renaming buildings after living officials crosses that line.
Kennedy’s rule is a sensible proposal. It would prevent a future where every major building bears the name of a current officeholder, and it would stop the cycle of renaming that has consumed the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace.
The irony of the ad running during Kennedy’s interview is the clearest example of what is wrong with the current approach. The government promoted Trump while Kennedy argued against it.
Kennedy’s proposal deserves support. It would restore a basic principle: public money serves the public, not individuals.
The fight over the Kennedy Center has dragged on for years, and it shows no sign of ending soon. The courts have blocked the board’s attempts, but the board has not given up.
The Lincoln Memorial promenade plan remains a question mark. Trump said he was unsure about it, but he also said it would be beautiful.
The Institute of Peace case adds another layer of complexity. Former officials are fighting to block construction crews from putting Trump’s name on the building.
The Penn Station and Dulles Airport plans remain proposals, not decisions. They could follow the same path as the Kennedy Center, with courts blocking the board’s attempts and the name remaining off the building.
For now, the fight continues. Kennedy has made his position clear, and the ads keep running.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs Sen. John Kennedy’s push to keep public money from being spent on private ads for living officials and is against any office or agency gathering power to spend taxpayer dollars on such advertising. The irony of a federal ad promoting President Trump appearing as Kennedy spoke on CBS underscored exactly what he was arguing against — a government using public funds to boost itself.
The paper opposes the concentration of power that lets a single office spend public money on private promotion, whether it is ads, building names or monuments. That kind of spending is a direct abuse of trust, and it gathers power in one place rather than distributing it among citizens.
What the reader should watch for is any move by any office to gather authority over public spending on private promotion. The paper will oppose it, whoever proposes it.
Source material: “Sen Kennedy says no living politicians should have buildings named after them after Trump's moves,” Fox News.
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