Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is leading legislation aimed at what Democrats describe as President Donald Trump’s "narcissism," seeking to bar sitting presidents from putting their own names on federal buildings.
"For Trump to put his name on federal buildings is arrogant, and it is illegal," Sanders said in a press release Tuesday. "We must put an end to this narcissism — and that’s what this bill does.
"It’s no secret that President Trump is undermining democracy and moving this country toward authoritarianism," Sanders added. "Part of that strategy is to create the myth of the ‘Great Leader’ by naming public buildings after himself — something that dictators have done throughout history."
Sanders was joined by Democratic Maryland senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks in introducing the Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego Act Tuesday, which would "prohibit the naming, renaming, designating, or redesignating of any Federal building, land, or other asset in the name of a sitting President, and for other purposes," according to text of the bill.
If the legislation should pass, a federal building, piece of land or other federal asset that is currently named after a sitting president must be reverted to the name established by federal law before that president took office, according to the text of the bill.
The legislation follows Democratic outrage over the renaming of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December 2025.
When asked about the senators' remarks and legislation, the White House told Fox News Digital the Trump administration isn't focused on "branding."
"Overdue upgrades of national landmarks and lasting peace deals are historic initiatives that would not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership," White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Huston told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "The administration’s focus isn’t on smart branding, but delivering on President Trump’s goal of Making America Great Again."
Previous presidents have had their names etched into the nation’s landmarks and institutions while still in office. Washington, D.C., for example, was named in 1791 while George Washington was serving as president as the new federal capital took shape. And, in 1930, Interior Secretary Ray Lyman Wilbur said the Boulder Canyon Project’s dam would be called the Hoover Dam during Herbert Hoover’s presidency.
The Trump administration announced in December 2025 that the center's board of trustees unanimously voted to rename the center, saying Trump saved the institution from financial ruin during his second term.
Presidents appoint the majority of the board's trustees, and Trump dismissed the previously appointed Board of Trustees "who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture" in the early weeks of his second administration. Trump also serves as the center's chairman of the board, the first president to fill the position.
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When asked about the legislation, Trump–Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi underscored Trump's work to revitalize the center after "years of neglect."
"President Trump deserves credit for saving America’s cultural center after years of neglect — as the very legislators attacking him now sat idly by while the center fell into disrepair," Daravi said. "Thanks to the chairman’s leadership and record-breaking fundraising, the Trump Kennedy Center is a thriving, bipartisan institution that welcomes patrons of all backgrounds — even those peddling baseless legislation to score political points."
President of the Trump–Kennedy Center Richard Grenell told Fox News Tuesday that "President Trump has saved the arts institution," noting that when he was tapped to lead the center, it was relying on debt reserves to pay staff.
"The board put President Trump forward, because President Trump saved the Kennedy Center. We have, for decades, watched the Kennedy Center be ignored by the very people now who are standing up and complaining about the rescuer," Grenell said. "They're complaining about the fireman who's come in to literally rescue and put out the fire."
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Grenell said in 2025 that he was rolling out a "commonsense plan" to make the center prosperous again, including getting rid of debt, expanding fundraising and its endowment and restoring programming that the administration argues appeals to a broader national audience. Fox News Digital previously reported the center nearly doubled its fundraising during the Kennedy Center Honors awards show in 2025 compared to the Biden administration, raising a record $23 million during the December 2025 event.
Democrats feverishly came out against the renaming of the iconic cultural center, and Sanders said in December 2025 he would introduce legislation to prevent sitting presidents from renaming federal property after themselves, slamming the Kennedy Center name change as showing Trump's alleged "arrogance" and "narcissism."
Van Hollen said Tuesday that "Trump doesn’t get to slap his name on any public institution he chooses."
"We don’t have kings or dictators in America, and this legislation stops him or any future sitting president from creating monuments to glorify themselves — because these landmarks belong to the people, not to self-worshipers," the Maryland senator continued.
The U.S. Institute of Peace also was formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in December 2025 as the administration continues working to dismantle the agency.
The institute is an independent, national institution funded by Congress that was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration to promote peace and diplomacy on the international stage.
The White House defended the rename in a comment to Fox News Digital at the time, saying the agency is a "a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace," adding that Trump "ended eight wars in less than a year."
Lawmakers filed a lawsuit to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center in December 2025, while the shuttering of the Institute of Peace is still embroiled in court battles focused on whether the Trump administration controls the congressionally created agency.
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., joined the trio in co-sponsoring the legislation.
