Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is joining legislation that would ban sitting presidents from putting their names on federal buildings while in office.
The bill follows December’s announcement that the State Department is renaming the U.S. Institute of Peace after Donald Trump. Two weeks later, Trump’s appointees to the board of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts voted to add his name to the website and the front of the building. Both decisions violated existing federal laws.
“Donald Trump is more focused on putting his name on buildings than he is on helping families in Oregon and across the country afford food, housing, or health care,” Wyden said. “This legislation will help ensure that presidents can’t abuse the Oval Office or taxpayer dollars with shameless vanity projects while depriving families of the help they need.”
The Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego (SERVE) Act would:
- Prohibit the naming or renaming of any federal building, land, or other asset in the name of a sitting president;
- Prohibit the use of federal funds to do so; and
- Ensure this applies retroactively to the Kennedy Center and Institute of Peace by returning any federal assets named for the current sitting president to the name given under United States Code.
The SERVE Act was introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Angela Alsobrooks D-Md. In addition to Wyden, this bill was cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker D-N.J., Adam Schiff D-Calif., and Chuck Schumer D-N.Y.
The text of the letter is here.
A web version of this release is here.
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