Mike Lee Blocks Bill to Protect Kennedy Center from Demolition
Washington, September 29, 2026: A bipartisan bill that would have required congressional approval before the Kennedy Center or other federally designated presidential memorials could be demolished has been blocked in the U.S. Senate.
Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee objected when Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley sought to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act by unanimous consent. The bill, co-sponsored by Merkley and Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, would have prohibited the demolition of any presidential memorial designated by Congress—including the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial—unless lawmakers gave explicit approval.
Merkley accused President Donald Trump of first changing the Kennedy Center’s programming and then threatening the future of the building. He said the move appeared linked to legal restrictions preventing Trump from adding his name to the center.
Because of Lee’s objection, the bill could not move forward through the Senate’s unanimous-consent process. A further bipartisan effort to protect the Kennedy Center has since been introduced, but no legislation has yet become law.
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