唐纳德·特朗普总统计划对华盛顿的肯尼迪中心进行“全面重建”，这一计划引发了一场法律争议，焦点在于他——还是国会——有权掌控这一备受瞩目的文化机构。
这场纷争始于去年12月，当时，在特朗普亲自挑选的肯尼迪中心董事会成员一致投票通过后，特朗普的名字被添加到了大楼正面——在现有的“约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术纪念中心”标识之上。
最近，纷争进一步升级，特朗普宣布该中心将于7月关闭两年，进行他所说的必要重大翻修。
部分国会议员对此予以反击，甚至诉诸法庭，指控特朗普的行为非法，应当予以撤销。
法律怎么说?
以下是对法律和历史在这一问题上的详细解读：
自国会通过联邦法规创建这一文化机构，于1964年约翰·F·肯尼迪总统去世后不久将其指定为纪念馆，并在2010年代进行扩建以来，该机构一直由行政和立法部门共同管理——这也为法律争议埋下了伏笔。
虽然行政部门负责监督中心董事会的任命，但国会对于资金拨款和项目审批拥有最终决定权。
负责监督内政、环境及相关机构事务的众议院拨款小组委员会，授权中心董事会对任何提议和批准的变更采取行动。
据该小组委员会的资深民主党人众议员切莉·平格里表示，该小组委员会历来独立于行政部门或中心董事会投票决定的事项，全面掌控资金、项目管理和安全事务。
国会已提出并批准了从大型建设项目，如毗邻肯尼迪中心、专为艺术家合作设计的REACH扩建项目，到小型年度标准维护费用等各类项目。
特朗普7月签署的被称为“宏伟法案”的标志性立法绕过了该小组委员会，直接拨款2.56657亿美元，用于“大楼资本维修、修复、维护积压和安全结构的必要开支”。
肯尼迪中心新任总裁、特朗普任命的理查德·格雷内尔在一份声明中表示：“我感谢特朗普总统的远见卓识和领导力。我也感谢国会拨款2.57亿美元这一历史性巨资，以解决特朗普肯尼迪中心数十年来一直拖延的维护和修复问题。”
特朗普政府表示，这些已拨资金将涵盖其提议的重大翻修的任何费用。
格雷内尔说：“该中心迫切需要这次翻修，暂时关闭中心是明智之举——这将使我们能够更好地投入资源，进行更大胆的思考，使历史性翻修更加全面。”“这也意味着我们将更快完成翻修。”
总统权力是否受限?
乔治城大学法学教授戴维·苏珀告诉美国广播公司新闻频道，尽管国会已拨款用于这些变更，但特朗普及其政府在决策上并非完全自由。
苏珀说：“宪法规定，除非国会通过拨款法案，否则不得从国库支取款项。”“他可以将这笔钱用于国会批准的任何目的，包括延期维护、修复、修复和翻修。但这并不允许他重建大楼。”
虽然特朗普已提议进行重大翻修，但尚未正式公布计划，也未与负责监督该中心的小组委员会分享。在椭圆形办公室拍摄照片时，特朗普表示，钢材将“完全暴露”但不会被拆除。
他说：“我不会拆除它。我会利用这些钢材。”“所以，我们将利用原有结构。我们会利用部分大理石，部分大理石会被拆除，但当它重新开放时，它将是全新的，非常漂亮。它将达到最高水平。”
苏珀说，如果这些翻修符合国会通过的法律条款，那么特朗普作为总统——以及肯尼迪中心董事会主席——有权推进。如果翻修超出了法律明确规定和允许的范围，苏珀说，他的行为将违宪。
苏珀说：“他关于‘也许他们会用大理石，也许不会’的一些言论，暗示着他正在计划远不止翻修或修复的事情。”“如果是这样，那么他将违反拨款法案的条款，从而违反宪法。”
当被问及总统是否会将其计划限制在国会规定的范围内时，白宫发言人莉兹·哈德斯顿告诉美国广播公司新闻频道：“尽管民主党人多年来忽视了特朗普肯尼迪中心，但特朗普总统立即挺身而出，拯救并振兴了该机构。”
哈德斯顿还列举了部分资金将用于维护的方面，包括“修复并在必要时更换建筑外墙元素”，以及“使特朗普肯尼迪中心符合现行生命安全规范和安全标准的工作”。
迄今为止，尚未有诉讼指控特朗普对该中心的翻修提议非法。
更名风波
该中心颇具争议的更名又引发了另一个法律问题。
1964年该建筑被指定为纪念馆时，国会在如何命名和运营该中心的问题上使用了明确的语言。
美国公法88-260规定，美国必须“将该中心指定或称为约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心”。
苏珀说：“他们几乎没给人留下想象空间，详细说明了他们希望肯尼迪中心是什么样的。”他补充说，“国会创建了许多机构，但并未命名，这留给总统来命名，但这里有一项法律规定，它应被称为约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心。”
苏珀说，无论董事会做出什么决定，该中心的法定名称都将保持不变。
苏珀说：“作为国会正式通过的法律，它对你、我以及总统都具有约束力。”“总统说他想花在翻修肯尼迪中心上的钱，是拨给约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心的，而不是特朗普肯尼迪中心的。所以，如果他真的用了这笔钱，就等于承认它的名字没有改变。”
肯尼迪中心前董事会成员、民主党众议员乔伊斯·比蒂已提起诉讼，阻止特朗普和董事会更改肯尼迪中心的名称，并要求移除特朗普的名字。
美国法典第76j条规定，“董事会应确保，1983年12月2日之后，约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心的公共区域不得再指定或安装任何纪念性铭牌或类似纪念物。”
比蒂的诉讼称：“由于国会通过法规命名了该中心，更改肯尼迪中心的名称需要国会通过法案。”“但在2025年12月18日和19日——这些场景更像是专制政权，而非美利坚合众国——现任总统和他亲自挑选的忠诚者以特朗普总统的名字重新命名了这一传奇中心。”
平格里表示，小组委员会对特朗普的计划知之甚少，她反而是通过社交媒体了解到他提议的变更。
平格里告诉美国广播公司新闻频道：“现在会发生什么?”她补充说，“他拆除了东翼。这是否意味着他认为他将拆除肯尼迪中心，并将其重建为自己的纪念碑?”
随着议员们开始讨论2027年的资金问题，平格里表示，她正在与共和党同仁合作，要求获取信息。
平格里说：“我们肯定会告诉他们，在这个周期内，除非你们提供更多关于你们正在做什么的信息，否则我们不会拨款。”
“如果这笔钱目前只是用来维持该中心的运营，因为门票销售不佳，表演者不愿演出，那么这笔钱就不会用于迫切需要的地方。我认为，那栋大楼确实有一些非常重要的事情需要做。”她说。
Who controls the Kennedy Center -- Trump or Congress?
President Donald Trump's plan for a "Complete Rebuilding" of the Kennedy Center in Washington has sparked a legal debate over whether he -- or Congress -- has the power to control the high-profile cultural institution.
The battle began in December, when Trump's name was added tothe building's facade-- above the existing signage that reads "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" -- following a unanimous vote by Trump's hand-picked board of center trustees.
It escalated recently, when Trump announced it would close in July for two years -- to make major renovations he said were necessary.
Some members of Congress are pushing back, including in court, alleging Trump's actions are unlawful and should be reversed.
What does the law say?
Here's a closer look at what the law and history say on the question:
Since Congress created the cultural institution in a federal statute, designating it as a living memorial in 1964 shortly after President John F. Kennedy's death and then through its expansion in the 2010s, it has been operated by both the executive and legislative branches -- contributing to the legal debate.
While the executive branch oversees the appointments of the center's board of trustees, Congress has the ultimate say on what money gets appropriated and what projects get approved.
The House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies grants the center's board the power to act on any proposed and approved changes.
According to the top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Chellie Pingree, the panel has historically controlled all funding, project management and security, separate from the executive branch or what is voted on by the center's trustees.
Congress has proposed and authorized expansive construction projects, such as the REACH expansion adjacent to the Kennedy Center, designed for artist collaboration, to smaller standard year-to-year maintenance costs.
When Trump's signature legislation passed in July, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill," it circumvented the subcommittee, instead directly appropriating $256,657,000 for "necessary expenses for capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures of the building."
In a statement, the Kennedy Center's new president, Richard Grenell, a Trump appointee, said, "I am grateful for President Trump’s visionary leadership. I am also grateful to Congress for appropriating an historic $257M to finally address decades of deferred maintenance and repairs at the Trump Kennedy Center."
The Trump administration has suggested these already appropriated funds will cover any costs of his proposed major renovation.
"It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the center just makes sense -- it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive," Grenell said. "It also means we will be finished faster."
Limits on the president's power?
Georgetown University law professor David Super told ABC News that even though the money for those changes is already appropriated by Congress, Trump and his administration do not have total freedom to make decisions.
"The Constitution says that no money shall be drawn for the Treasury except in accordance with an appropriation passed by Congress," Super said. "He can spend that money for any of the purposes Congress provided it for, and that includes deferred maintenance, repair, restoration, renovation. It does not allow him to rebuild it."
While Trump has suggestedmajor renovations, no plans have been officially released or shared with the congressional subcommittee overseeing the center. During an Oval Office photo, Trump said the steel would be "fully exposed" but not removed.
"I'm not ripping it down.I'll be using the steel," he said. "So, we're using the structure. We're using some of the marble and some of the marble comes down, but when it's opened, it'll be brand new and really beautiful. It'll be at the highest level."
Super said if those renovations align with the language of the law Congress has passed, it is within Trump's legal right both as president -- and chair of the Kennedy Center's board -- to go forward. If the renovations go beyond what the law spells out and allows, Super said, his moves would be unconstitutional.
"Some of his remarks about 'maybe, they will use the marble, maybe they won't', imply that he's planning something much more than renovation or repair," Super said. "If so, then he would be violating the language of the appropriation, and therefore the Constitution."
When asked whether the president would keep his plan within the constraints laid out by Congress, White House spokeswoman Liz Hudston told ABC News: "While the Democrats neglected the Trump-Kennedy Center for years, President Trump immediately stepped up to rescue and revitalize the institution."
Hudston also included some intended uses of the funds for maintenance, including "repairing and, where necessary, replacing elements on the exterior of the building," and "work to bring the Trump-Kennedy Center into compliance with current life safety codes and security standard."
So far, there are no lawsuits alleging Trump's proposed renovations to the center are illegal.
The renaming
The center's controversial renaming presents another legal question.
When the building was designated a living memorial in 1964, Congress wrote in explicit language on how the center should be named and operated.
U.S. Public Law 88-260dictates the U.S. must "be held to designate or refer to such Center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
"They really left very little to the imagination, and detailed what they wanted the Kennedy Center to be," Super said, adding, "there are many things Congress creates that it doesn't name, and that's left to the president to name, but here is a law saying it shall be known as the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
Super said that regardless of what the board of trustees decides, the name will legally remain as written in the statute.
"And as a duly passed law of Congress, this binds you, it binds me, and it binds the president," Super said. "The money that the president says he wants to spend on renovating the Kennedy Center is money that was appropriated for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, not for the Trump-Kennedy Center. So, if he in fact uses that money, he is acknowledging that its name did not change."
A former Kennedy Center trustee, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, has filed a lawsuit to stop Trump and the board of trustees from changing the Kennedy Center's name and wants Trump's name removed.
U.S.Code§76jstates that “the Board shall assure that after December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
"Because Congress named the center by statute, changing the Kennedy Center’s name requires an act of Congress," Beatty's lawsuit said. "But on December 18 and 19, 2025 -- in scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic -- the sitting President and his handpicked loyalists renamed this storied center after President Trump."
Pingree said her subcommittee has been told little about Trump's plans and that she had instead learned about his proposed changes through social media.
"What's going to happen now?" Pingree told ABC News, adding," he tore down the East Wing. Does this mean he thinks he's going to tear down the Kennedy Center and just rebuild it as a monument to himself?"
With lawmakers beginning discussions on funding for 2027, Pingree said she is working with her Republican counterpart to demand information.
"We will certainly say to them, we're not going to allocate any money in this cycle until you give us more information about what you're doing," Pingree said.
"If that money is currently being used just to keep the place afloat because ticket sales are off and performers won't perform, then it's not going to go to the desperately needed. I believe there are some really important things that need to be done to that building," she said.
