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The Kennedy Center's board voted unanimously to rename the institution to the "Trump-Kennedy Center" in recognition of what the administration has described as President Donald Trump's efforts to save the building over the past year, Fox News Digital confirmed.
"Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur," White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday.
Vice president of public relations Roma Daravi told Fox Digital Thursday that the unanimous vote "recognizes" Trump's work to pull the center out of financial straits while working to also update the building originally constructed in the 1960s, until its opening in 1971.
"The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction," Daravi told Fox News Digital Thursday.
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During a visit to the Kennedy Center in early December, Trump was asked whether he believed the performing arts center would eventually bear his name.
"I don't know. I hear that, but I don't know," he said, adding that any such decision would be made by the center's "very prestigious" board.
An official with the center told Fox News Digital the name change follows recent precedent, pointing to the State Department's decision earlier in December to add Trump's name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and to past presidential administrations that have renamed military bases.
The official also pointed to Trump's record on arts policy, noting that during his first term he signed the Music Modernization Act, supported emergency funding to help venues through Save Our Stages, as well as more recent measures to crack down on ticket scalping, and his backing of the American Music Fairness Act.
The current Kennedy Center board includes numerous figures closely aligned with Trump, from current administration officials to media personalities and political advisers, according to the center's website.
"The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America's cultural center for generations to come," she added.
Fox News Digital learned that all members of the board were invited to attend the vote in person, while all members were also permitted to listen in on the meeting, even those who could not vote, such as an ex-officio member, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-O.H.).
Beatty responded to the name change Thursday in a video message claiming the vote was not unanimous and she was "muted" when she attempted to speak.
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Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended an event at the Kennedy Center Dec. 7, highlighting the work of stars like Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford and KISS band members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss.
Trump was asked about the name change during a White House event on Thursday, telling the media he "was honored" and "surprised" by the update.
"We're saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, physically, financially, in every other way. And now it's very solid, very strong. We have something going on television, I guess on the 23rd December. I think it's going to get very big ratings and the Kennedy Center is really, really back strongly," he said.
Trump added that Congress and donors will "put up a lot of money" to help support the center.
"We had a lot of donors come in for record-setting numbers. So we saved the Kennedy Center. … This was brought up by one of the very distinguished board members, and they voted on it. And there's a lot of board members, and they voted unanimously. So I was very honored. And thank you," he added of the name update.
