Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) says Congress should bar any living politician from having a public building named after him, a proposal aimed squarely at the wave of Trump-branded renamings sweeping federal property.
“I also think that we ought to have a rule that no politician can have a building named after him while he’s alive,” Kennedy told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I think that would settle a lot of this controversy.”
Kennedy’s comments came when he was asked about President Trump’s use of taxpayer money on a politically charged ad campaign. “You can’t spend public money to promote yourself,” Kennedy said.
The senator, who is not related to the late President John F. Kennedy, made the remark amid a string of Trump-branding moves across the government. Last year the administration renamed the Institute of Peace as the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace, and it has tried to rebrand the Kennedy Center as the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a move currently tied up in the courts.
With that renaming blocked by a judge, Trump has floated demolishing the Kennedy Center complex entirely, with allies citing structural damage as justification. In Florida, Republicans have already renamed the airport nearest Trump’s Palm Beach resort as President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
The branding push extends beyond buildings. The nation’s first sixth-generation fighter jet has been named the Boeing F-47, a nod to Trump as the 47th president, and last year he announced plans for a Trump-class battleship. Several Republican lawmakers have also introduced bills to put Trump’s name or image on symbols including the $100 bill.
Kennedy has broken with the White House before. His pointed questioning of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her use of federal money for ads featuring herself is believed to have contributed to Trump’s decision to fire her. His own Louisiana colleague, Sen. Bill Cassidy, lost his primary earlier this year to Rep. Julia Letlow after Trump backed her out of frustration with Cassidy’s vote for a second impeachment.
The renewed debate follows a weekend ad, paid for by the federal government, in which Trump is shown vowing to dismantle “the deep state,” “throw off the sick political class that hates our country,” and warning of a “final battle.” The spot has drawn criticism for its resemblance to Trump’s 2024 campaign material and its roughly $1.7 million cost so close to the midterms.
“The White House sees it differently, but there ought to be a rule that you can’t — well, there probably is a rule — you can’t spend public money to promote yourself,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy added, seemingly referencing a viral meme in which Trump’s team mocked Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “I may end up with a sombrero on my head. I also think that we ought to have a rule.”
