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Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is firing back against White House claims that the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was unanimous, adding that she was muted when she tried to challenge the move.
In a video shared on X, Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, said she attempted to voice her concerns about renaming the performing arts center to include President Donald Trump's name, but she wasn't allowed to speak.
“I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted,” Beatty said. “Each time I tried to speak, I was muted.”
“Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online. Yet, it was said at the end, it was a unanimous vote," she added.
Beatty's comments come after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday (December 18) that the Kennedy Center board, whose members were appointed by the president, voted “unanimously” to rename the institution “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, also confirmed the change and the alleged unanimous board vote.
“For the record. This was not unanimous,” Beatty wrote alongside her video, calling the process “censorship.”
The Democratic lawmaker added that the vote wasn't on the meeting's agenda. Beatty questioned the legality of the move, noting that the Kennedy Center was created by Congress.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), all ex officio board members, also issued a joint statement criticizing the process.
“At today’s meeting, a sitting Member of Congress was muted, and participants were prevented from speaking — actions that reflect a troubling lack of transparency and respect for the rule of law,” the statement said, accusing the administration of corruption and vowing oversight.
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