A bipartisan effort to protect the Kennedy Center from demolition was blocked in the Senate Monday night by a single Republican senator.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah opposed passage of a bill stipulating that any presidential memorial designated by an act of Congress — including the Kennedy Center — could not be demolished without congressional approval.
Supporters of the bill attempted to pass it through a fast-track process known as a unanimous consent request. But any senator can object to such a request.
The move comes after President Donald Trump was photographed earlier this month examining a poster that appeared to read “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED,” hours before his administration told a judge that the Washington arts institution should be closed due to “structural deterioration.”
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the bill. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Senators Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse and Chris Van Hollen also sponsored the measure.
“Trump feels that if he can’t take over and name it after him and clear Kennedy’s name, no one will be able to go perform on stage and no one will be able to go hear anyone perform. In fact, the building should not be left standing,” Merkley said on the Senate floor Monday.
He added that the bill “defends the rule of law, the separation of powers and the fact that we are a republic, and defends the fact that our nation mourned when John Kennedy was assassinated, and this is a memorial that we go to to remember him.”
Lee opposed the measure and continued debate on the bill, without making a statement on his opposition. CNN has contacted Lee’s office for comment.
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