Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) blocked a Democratic effort late Monday to prevent President Trump from demolishing the Kennedy Center performing arts complex.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) attempted to pass the bill under unanimous consent, a procedure that bypasses a full floor vote if no senator objects.
The bill had also drawn support from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, making it a rare bipartisan effort to check the administration’s plans.
Trump has threatened to tear down the Kennedy Center after a court blocked him from adding his name to the building’s facade alongside President Kennedy’s.
The administration is separately fighting a legal challenge over proposed renovations, arguing the building is “decrepit” and requires a full remodel.
Merkley’s bill would have prohibited the demolition of any national memorial honoring a U.S. president without an explicit act of Congress.
“Trump’s threats are straight out of the authoritarian playbook and should infuriate every American who values our nation’s history and the rule of law,” Merkley said.
“Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars putting Trump’s name on memorials and monuments as if he is a king, we should be focused on putting money back into the pockets of working families and honoring America’s greatest cultural institutions, not destroying them,” Merkley added.
Lee also objected, moments earlier in the same session, to a separate Merkley motion that would have blocked Trump from constructing a large marble arch between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) had warned the previous week that Trump appears to be laying the groundwork for that arch’s construction, despite a court order requiring prior notice before any work begins.
The back-to-back objections from Lee effectively killed both measures, leaving open the question of what legal or legislative tools Congress can use to constrain the administration’s ambitions for federal landmarks.
The disputes over the Kennedy Center and the proposed arch reflect a broader tension between the executive branch and the courts over control of nationally significant public spaces and monuments.
