The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., could be getting a name change to its opera house, but not everyone is thrilled with that news.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday, Republicans in the House Appropriations Committee are looking to change the name to the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”

First lady Melania Trump is an honorary chair of the Kennedy Center’s board as tradition dictates.

The committee adopted the proposal 33-25 after Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson put it forward as an amendment to a bill funding several agencies for fiscal year 2026.

Simpson said on the decision, “This is an excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump’s] support and commitment to promoting the arts, and I would encourage members to vote for this Republican en bloc amendment.”

???? JUST IN: House Republicans have just ADVANCED a proposal to rename the Kennedy Center’s Opera House the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House”

The opera house is one of the DC venue’s major theaters.

I love it. Melania absolutely deserves this. pic.twitter.com/AOtj2r4jhI

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 22, 2025

The left-leaning outlet is not as elated as some Republicans are about the change.

Travis Andrews and Kara Voght wrote, “Since its opening in 1971, a bipartisan tone has predominated at the Kennedy Center, where crowds have often drawn in arts patrons from across the political spectrum.

“Its board of trustees members were generally split between Republicans and Democrats, until February when President Donald Trump fired board members who had been appointed by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his own. The trustees then voted him in as president of the Kennedy Center board.”

If the bill becomes law, making the name change official, it would be a “further blurring of the center and the Trump administration,” Andrews and Voght argued.

All of a sudden, leftists are worried about political proliferation in places tradition has kept insulated for them.

Where was this fear during the George Floyd riots in 2020 when every major media outlet, sports team, and brand were giving their opinion on racism?

Although the Washington Post noted the Eisenhower Theater, the Opera House, and the Concert Hall have never seen a name change, this is pretty mild compared to a massive Black Lives Matter street mural supporting violence and rioting or a month of the year celebrating debauchery à la “pride month.”

On another note, shouldn’t the left and Democrats be celebrating the name change?

Democratic Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree said, “[Republicans] snuck in, I think, something that is slightly divisive,” but what is divisive about honoring a successful immigrant from Slovenia?

Aren’t we supposed to be accepting immigrants and their contributions to this country?

The first lady seems like a great example of an immigrant to celebrate.

Perhaps if Simpson had proposed the name become the “Kilmar Abrego Garcia Opera House,” after a man the Department of Homeland Security referred to as an “MS-13 gang member, illegal alien from El Salvador, and suspected human trafficker,” the left would be singing a different tune.

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