Mike Lee Blocks Bill Requiring Congress's Sign-Off Before Any Demolition of the Kennedy Center

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) objected Monday night, September 28, to a fast-track effort to pass the "Protecting Presidential Memorials Act," a bill that would require an act of Congress before any presidential memorial, including the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, or the Washington Monument, could be demolished.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent, a procedure that lets legislation move forward instantly unless a single senator objects. Lee objected. That single word killed the bill for now, according to The Washington Post's account cited by multiple outlets.

The bill was co-written with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Kennedy Center, and was also sponsored by Democratic Sens. Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Chris Van Hollen, according to CNN.

Why This Bill Exists

The fight traces back to early in Trump's second term, when he took control of the Kennedy Center's board, removed existing members, and installed allies who then voted in December 2025 to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May 2026 that only Congress can rename a memorial designated by Congress, and blocked a separate plan to shut the building down for two years. Cooper rejected a second attempt to rename the building on September 15, 2026. Trump responded that a planned $257 million renovation would not move forward unless that ruling was reversed, according to The Guardian.

Things escalated after a storm on September 4 caused ceiling plaster to fall in the Grand Foyer, according to Daily Wire's reporting on remarks from executive director Matt Floca. No one was hurt, but inspectors found other trouble spots, and the board voted September 15 to close the main building.

In an August court filing, Justice Department lawyers representing the center told a judge that without Trump's fundraising and renovation plan, the 55-year-old building would keep deteriorating until it eventually had to come down. They floated replacing it with an outdoor amphitheater on the Potomac, while conceding that wouldn't properly honor President Kennedy, according to both Breitbart and The Guardian.

Merkley pointed to a photo of Trump aboard Air Force One reviewing a poster that appeared to read "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED," taken the same day the administration told a judge the building had "structural deterioration," according to CNN.

The Center Is Also Broke

Separate from the legal fight over the name and the building's structure, the Kennedy Center is facing what its own leadership called a "certain fiscal collapse" absent immediate action, according to a 57-page document distributed to trustees ahead of a special board meeting, reported by Daily Wire.

The document projected the center would bring in about $124 million against a budgeted $220 million for the fiscal year, leaving an estimated $23 million deficit even after major cuts. One proposed fix: add a line to the building's exterior crediting "Renovation Restoration and Endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund" to help raise money.

Trump has said publicly that the center has "been a dump" and lost money for years, and that he'd subsidize repairs but wants recognition for doing it, remarks he made on September 18 and reported by Macon.com.

What Each Side Says

Merkley called Trump's posture "straight out of the authoritarian playbook," arguing on the Senate floor that the president wants the building gone because the law bars him from putting his name on it. Murkowski has said Congress authorized and funded renovation work, but "what was not authorized is a demolition of the Kennedy Center."

Lee did not explain his objection on the floor, but his office told multiple outlets, including USA TODAY and The Guardian, that the bill should go through "the appropriate committee process" rather than a unanimous-consent shortcut. "Democrats should join us in lowering the cost of living and securing American elections instead of wasting the Senate's time with partisan scaremongering," Lee's statement read.

Unanimous consent bypasses committee hearings, markup, and debate, and a senator objecting to that shortcut on process grounds isn't the same as endorsing demolition. Lee has not said he supports tearing the building down.

Kennedy Center leadership has told the court the building will not be demolished, and Judge Cooper has ordered the center to give 30 days notice before any demolition plans move forward, according to Breitbart and The Guardian.

Merkley and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) said Tuesday they'll keep pushing the bill through regular order in both chambers. Whether it gets a committee hearing, and whether the Kennedy Center's board can close the $23 million gap before facing what its own leadership called payroll problems within weeks, are both still open questions heading into October.