Rep. Joyce Beatty delivers an emotional and forceful rebuke of President Donald Trump over his controversial takeover and renaming of the Kennedy Center. During her testimony, Beatty details her legal battle and argues that the dispute represents a larger fight over the rule of law and the future of a major American institution. The hearing takes a dramatic turn when Democrats erupt in applause despite the usual protocol, leaving senators visibly emotional and the room charged with tension.
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00:00Today's hearing monumental waste on how Donald Trump is spending taxpayers' dollars on national
00:07landmarks like the Kennedy Center.
00:09My testimony will focus on fighting back against Trump's unlawful renaming of the John F. Kennedy
00:16Center for the Performing Arts, the only living memorial for President Kennedy.
00:22It's about whether powerful people can rewrite history, seize public institutions, and
00:30silence dissent.
00:32The unlawful renaming of the Kennedy Center is another example of Trump's disregard of
00:38the rule of law and our Constitution.
00:41I became the face of this fight because someone had to stand up.
00:46At the end of the day, it wasn't about fighting for myself.
00:51I was fighting for the rule of law and for an institution that belongs to the American
00:56people.
00:57Trump began his takeover of the Kennedy Center by handpicking his sycophants to the Board
01:03of Trustees to rubber stamp his plans.
01:07By law, certain members of Congress serve as ex-official members of the Kennedy Center's
01:13Board of Trustees, like myself.
01:15Trump then illegally stripped ex-official members of their rights to vote in board meetings.
01:23During the December 18, 2025 virtual meeting, I was muted, silencing me when the vote occurred
01:32to change the name.
01:34On December 22nd, 2025, I filed the lawsuit, Beatty v. Trump, in federal court to remind
01:42the president that there are consequences for unlawful actions and that one cannot simply
01:51rewrite federal law.
01:55From December 2025 to March 2026, a series of filings and hearings occurred.
02:03I appeared before the Federal District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper on March 12th,
02:09might add that was my birthday, 2026.
02:12On May 30th, 2026, Judge Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center trustees acted unlawfully when
02:20they renamed the institution to include Donald Trump's name.
02:23Further, the court reaffirmed separation of powers by stating that only Congress has the
02:30authority to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
02:34Judge Cooper also ordered every reference to Trump's name to be removed, including the website,
02:41branding, transportation, and signage on the front of the building.
02:45On June 12th, 2026, the day the sign was ordered to come down, I stood with hundreds of people
02:52at the Kennedy Center for approximately 11 hours as scaffolding and a tarp were erected.
02:59At 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 13th, I witnessed the name had been removed.
03:05In addition to the name being removed, Judge Cooper also blocked Trump's plan two-year shutdown
03:11of the Kennedy Center.
03:13Justice prevailed.
03:15No longer silenced, no longer prevented from attending and voting in board meetings, the
03:20name had come down.
03:21The Kennedy Center is the home to the National Symphony Orchestra and thousands of artists,
03:27performers, students, advisors, and families like many here today, except especially Mr.
03:34Ben Foes.
03:34Once it became apparent that the Trump and the board's unlawful actions led artists to canceling
03:41and refusing to play the Kennedy Center.
03:43It appeared that Trump decided that his own personal ego outweighed the thousands of artists
03:50and the workers who rely on the Kennedy Center for their livelihood.
03:53The court's most recent ruling made clear that the Trump administration must expand, must explain
04:00two things by July 31st.
04:02Why the Kennedy Center remains covered by a massive tarp, and what is he covering up, and
04:09what concrete plans they have to keep the building open.
04:12I'd like to convey my appreciation to the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent
04:18Subcommittee on Investigations for holding this hearing today.
04:21In these difficult times, American people deserve better than a president who is more focused
04:28on slapping his name on buildings than helping people lower the cost of groceries.
04:34Yes, I would have preferred to be here talking about affordability and helping working families
04:40rather than discussing Trump's vanity projects and petty acts of defiance.
04:46Thank you, and I yield back.
04:58Thank you so much, Congresswoman B., and thank you for your great work.
05:03I want to just say, ordinarily, we would have a presiding officer sternly gaveling down the applause.
05:16But actually, there's something very refreshing and inspiring about your approval, and thank you,
05:26Congresswoman B., for that excellent testimony.
05:29Mr. Folds?
05:31Mr. Folds, the floor is yours.
05:36Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the committees.
05:40Thank you for the invitation to speak for you today.
05:43My name is Ben Folds, and I've been a recording artist and a touring artist for 30 years, and
05:48half my career has been focused on the orchestra.
05:51In 2017, I was appointed the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra, NSO, at the
05:58Kennedy Center here in Washington, D.C., where my role was essentially curatorial.
06:03We sold out shows for eight years straight without compromising the orchestra's integrity.
06:09Contemporary artists like Sara Bareilles, John Batiste, Regina Spector, as well as country artist Jamie Johnson
06:14Johnson, all played their first orchestra shows with us, and then carried those scores to
06:19perform with other orchestras around the country, because it's a common challenge for orchestras
06:24across the U.S. to bring in younger audiences, and their survival depends on this, so we saw
06:30an opportunity there.
06:31This is one of the many things that the Kennedy Center and the NSO can lead as a mission-based
06:36federal arts institution, not a run-of-the-mill profit institution.
06:41Just as our efforts were beginning to make a difference across the country, in February
06:46of 2025, the Trump administration staged a brutal board takeover.
06:51For the first time in history, a president took control of the Kennedy Center's programming
06:55and messaging.
06:56The firewall between politics and the Center's non-profit mission was eliminated.
07:02The result was a hyper-politicized environment.
07:06Gone was the apolitical sanctuary the Kennedy Center always provided.
07:10During the first Trump administration, when I was appointed, I never heard politics discussed
07:15in any meetings or gatherings at the Center.
07:18Everyone involved, including the Trump board, knew we were there to create, educate, and showcase
07:23art for all Americans, not to further a political agenda.
07:27I think most of us understand that when you politicize art, you got propaganda.
07:33With the new partisan toxic environment under the current administration, I could not trust
07:37that artists I booked at the Kennedy Center would be safe from retribution if they said
07:43or sung something that might displease the president or his political lackeys who now controlled
07:49the center.
07:50I could not perform my job or the mission I was brought on to do, and for this reason,
07:54with great sadness, I had no choice but to resign.
07:58These days, if an artist agrees to perform at the Kennedy Center, they risk being seen as
08:03explicitly endorsing the Trump administration and all of its policies.
08:07Declining an invitation to perform at the Kennedy Center will have an equal and opposite political
08:12effect.
08:13There may be certain artists who will thrive in this environment, comedians come to mind,
08:17but most want nothing to do with it and will choose to create and perform their art elsewhere.
08:23And they are, and audiences are following.
08:26If you take the case of D.C.-based artist Yasmin Williams, who decided even after the
08:32takeover to honor a prior offer to perform at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, exercising
08:38her First Amendment rights, Yasmin had publicly taken issue with the then Center's Trump-loyal
08:44executive director, and during her performance, she was aggressively interrupted and heckled,
08:51prompting the Center's Workers' Union to call for an investigation into credible allegations
08:55that the then executive director incited and even paid these hecklers to harass her.
09:02So, Yasmin had to endure heckling from extremists on the right, while also getting grief from
09:08the left for even showing up to perform, treated as she was a scab crossing a picket line.
09:14And you have to marvel at anyone who would believe they could run the business of the
09:19Kennedy Center with no prior arts administration experience at all.
09:23And we can see the result has been dwindling audiences, the exit of the Washington National
09:29Opera, the dismantling of the national public education outreach programs, and the demoralization
09:35of our National Symphony Orchestra.
09:37Many of the NSO privately believe that their jobs are in danger.
09:41So the takeover hobbled the Kennedy Center, broke its once proven successful business model,
09:46and disrespected its original core mission.
09:50The unlawful addition of the president's name to the front of the building sent the Kennedy
09:54Center into further spiral.
09:57And while his name has been removed, thank you, the Center's future and the future of the NSO
10:04is still uncertain.
10:05Our beloved institution needs to be resuscitated.
10:08We need a vibrant Kennedy Center whose leadership once again understands how to run its business,
10:14who will keep politics checked at the doors, who will ensure that only the most qualified
10:17arts administrators are in charge.
10:19Because we can see the damage that is caused when arts are run by politicians rather than people.
10:24I greatly appreciate you hearing me out.
10:27I can only hope your concerns can find their ways.
10:29to the hearts and minds of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who seem absent
10:34today.
10:36I used to work with them on various issues, bringing people into the arts, and they're absent now.
10:43Here's hoping that we can get that spirit back.
10:46I'd like to yield back myself.
10:55Thank you very much, Mr. Foltz, and for all your work.
10:59I now recognize Mr. Shaughnessy.
11:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
11:04Good afternoon, everyone.
11:07I appreciate your efforts in keeping this issue in the public eye.
11:10I speak to you today as a private citizen, a Marine Corps combat veteran, son of a veteran,
11:15and grandson of generations of combat veterans spanning nearly 200 years.
11:19Buried in Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery, my great-grandfather, my great-grandmother.
11:24He, a combat veteran who led the charge in horseback against Pancho Villa, and would go
11:30on to serve in both World Wars.
11:33She, a combat nurse who tended to wounded young men during World War II.
11:37They didn't question whether they should serve, only how long they would be permitted to.
11:41As a young Marine, I was impressed by their example.
11:43Their commitment to service and country became values I carried through my enlistment and combat
11:47tour, a tour in which I lost friends before I could learn their full names.
11:51Now, potentially, a gigantic arch will cast a shadow on my resting family, friends, and
11:57leathernecks, as vanity is rewarded with a momentous symbol of selfishness.
12:01A 250-foot arch is a profound disruption and insult at the entrance to sacred ground.
12:06The space at the gates of Arlington Cemetery exists as a threshold, a transitory passage between
12:11service and burial.
12:12To preserve that integrity, it must remain open and unobstructed.
12:16The origin of this arch was not borne from conversations and contemplation with military
12:20members, veterans, their families, or the entities that serve these populations.
12:25It was not a discussion with the American people, not a discussion for the American people, but
12:29rather an attempt to gain the attention of one man.
12:32Service members and their families navigate many transitions throughout a military career
12:36and beyond.
12:36The transition out of the military is among the most dangerous periods a service member
12:40will face.
12:41That final transition from service to eternal rest, it is not theirs to manage.
12:47It is ours.
12:48It falls to us, the living, to receive our wounded and our dead with the highest esteem and care.
12:55An arch is not what they need.
12:58Who is this arch for?
13:00Is it for me?
13:01The president has already answered that question, and yes, it is for him.
13:05This arch would obstruct the sightline of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, a symbol of unity
13:09and reconciliation, connecting those divided by war and grief.
13:13Rather than honoring that unity, it deepens a wound that has not fully healed.
13:17Hasty construction is no path to a monument worthy of this nation.
13:21Previous memorials were shaped by extensive public input and rigorous agency review, ensuring
13:25that the final design reflected our shared values.
13:28This proposal has had neither.
13:31Others have raised the serious safety hazards of placing a monument in a roundabout at a
13:35high-traffic intersection, consistent with this administration's pattern of placing pedestrians
13:40in harm's way.
13:41Every view from our contemplated landscape will be dominated by an overt symbol of hasty, selfish
13:46celebration.
13:47Approaching drivers will have their view of Arlington obstructed as they gawk at the mammoth
13:51sterling white blocks of stamped facade.
13:54Once atop the observation deck, there are two choices.
13:57Gawk with an amusement-like stare at the cotton-bright gravestones diligently plotted across the
14:02hillside, or turn your back on our fallen comrades and take in the stunning views.
14:08The administration has chosen to ignore the established protocol and precedent for this project,
14:12which is allowing Congress to write into law the authorization for construction of a memorial
14:17structure.
14:18Instead of rubber-stamping every aspect of this project, contradicting the very purpose of
14:22pre-established criteria meant to determine a structure's path, the precedent cited for this
14:27project is beyond flawed and outdated.
14:29100 years old and two pillars apart is hardly sturdy footing for an arch.
14:35This project does not honor any living or deceased patriot of ours.
14:39Funding has been stripped from the Veterans Affairs, the National Park Service, and the
14:44Department of Interior, degrading the capacity of these very agencies that provide direct
14:47services to veterans and their families.
14:49If we are to truly support the men and women who serve in uniform direct this money to those
14:54agencies, how will this project be funded, with our tax dollars, with redirected entrance fees
15:00from parks across the country, anonymous donations flowing into another undisclosed fund?
15:06We deserve an answer.
15:08This is not political.
15:09This is eternal.
15:11No one needs this arch.
15:13It is inappropriate, unnecessary, insulting.
15:16It is a waste of our land, our time, and our money.
15:30Thank you for that testimony.
15:31Thank you for your service, Mr. Shaughnessy.
15:33Mr. Gollinger?
15:36Good afternoon.
15:37My name is John Gollinger.
15:38I'm the Democracy Advocate with Public Citizen, where I investigate corporate influence on
15:43governments and elections.
15:45The week before the wrecking ball smashed into the East Wing, a room of around a hundred
15:50people gathered in the White House for a candlelight dinner.
15:53They were there so President Trump could thank them for donating millions of dollars to fund
15:57his favorite pet project, the White House Golden Ballroom, and also to hear about another
16:02of his pet projects.
16:03We saw him holding up the toy arch earlier.
16:05That was at this same dinner, the monumental arch to himself.
16:09These ballroom dinner donors were prominent lobbyists, big-wig corporate execs, current
16:14and wannabe billionaires, all kinds of government-influenced peddlers and favor-seekers.
16:20But at the center of it all, at the head table, closest to the president, was the person responsible
16:27for raising the money.
16:29So I'm here today to focus on following the money, and I think that starts with the person
16:33and the people who are raising all of this corrupt money.
16:38That person is sitting at the center of the secretive fundraising machine that a federal
16:42judge in the ballroom case referred to as a Rube Goldberg contraption.
16:45That person is Meredith O'Rourke.
16:48Here she is, laughing all the way to the bank, laughing at pulling one over on the American
16:53people.
16:56It's President Trump's fundraiser-in-chief.
16:58A profile of Ms. O'Rourke last fall in a Florida publication called Influence Magazine,
17:03appropriately titled, reported that she doesn't like the spotlight.
17:07She doesn't like it shined on herself or her work.
17:09I think that's for good reason.
17:12Doing what I'm doing right now, and I hope you do a lot more of in the days and years
17:16to come, exposes the secretive, shady schemes that Ms. O'Rourke and her friends have employed
17:22to raise all this money for the projects we've heard about today.
17:26The ballroom, Freedom 250, the Garden for American Heroes, trashing of the Kennedy Center, probably
17:32the Arch, probably more.
17:34Central to these schemes has been cloaking Ms. O'Rourke's fundraising for all these pet
17:38projects with the veneer of legitimacy and secrecy by funneling the money through tax-exempt
17:44charitable organizations.
17:46Some of them long-standing groups like the Trust for the National Mall, which has served
17:50as the money funnel for the 400-plus million for the ballroom.
17:55Some of the money for the Freedom 250 has been funneled through the National Park Foundation.
18:02The template for both of these projects was the same.
18:05Hijack a legitimate group, funnel money from donors who want or have gotten something from
18:09government, and allow them to be both tax-exempt and secret.
18:14Steer the money to Donald Trump's piggy bank so he can dole the contracts out to friends,
18:19no-bid contracts in many or most cases, and spend wild sums to build monuments to waste
18:25greed and corruption.
18:27With my written testimony that I submitted for the record is the secret document public
18:31citizen obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request that lays out the ballroom project
18:36funding scheme in black and white.
18:37It says donors who want to be anonymous can be.
18:40It says money from tobacco companies that typically the Park Service and its charities can't take
18:45can be taken, and more.
18:47We did a report right after the ballroom, the East Wing was knocked down, that found hundreds
18:53of billions of dollars in government contracts went to the people, the companies that donated
18:57to the ballroom.
18:57Most of them also had federal enforcement actions pending or dropped.
19:01We did another one recently that found that the majority of the donors got more government
19:06contracts to the tune of 50 billion since they made their donations.
19:09And most of them, 16 out of 27 companies, are facing federal enforcement actions or have
19:14gotten them suspended.
19:15That's the donors we know about.
19:17What I'm more scared of is the donors we don't.
19:20But we will smoke them out, and we will find out.
19:24Last month, along with a revolving door project, Public Citizen analyzed the contracts and the
19:29corporate money related to Freedom 250.
19:31That's a Trump-aligned LLC, limited liability company, created and housed inside the National
19:37Park Foundation, where conveniently, Ms. O'Rourke was installed on the board in March.
19:42We found 20 corporate sponsors funded Freedom 250.
19:45This is ExxonMobil, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, United Airlines.
19:49Undisclosed sums contributed, no oversight.
19:53In another case, Ms. O'Rourke and her associates have simply invented their own tax-exempt charity
19:58out of whole cloth.
20:00According to the pledge agreement prepared for prospective donors, the National Garden
20:04of American Heroes Foundation was established this year to fund two Trump projects, the
20:10development of a Garden of Heroes at West Potomac Park and the dramatic expansion of the
20:16East Potomac Park golf course.
20:17The pledge agreement lists Ms. O'Rourke and her associate as the contacts and states that
20:22they will seek to retain the anonymity of anonymous donors.
20:26What all these sketchy schemes have in common is this, corporate and billionaire donors who
20:31want something from government, benefit.
20:34Meredith O'Rourke and her lobbyist friends who helped her raise the money, benefit.
20:38The charities funneling the money, benefit.
20:40Donald Trump benefits.
20:41The American people lose.
20:45Thank you very much, Mr. Bollinger.
20:51Thank you for the work that you're doing and your organization, and I'm turning now to Ambassador
20:59Iyden.
21:00Ranking members Blumenthal and Garcia, members of the Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on
21:07Investigations, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
21:12Thank you for convening this forum and inviting me and all of us to appear today.
21:20My name is Norman Eisen.
21:22I'm the co-
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