• A Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center has been canceled.
• The cancellation is linked to the recent addition of President Trump's name to the venue.
• The decision has drawn backlash from artists and Democratic lawmakers.
• The Kennedy Center's name change violates a law prohibiting additional memorials.
• Musician Chuck Redd, who has hosted the event, made the decision after seeing the name change.

A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition for over 20 years, has been canceled following the announcement that President Trump's name would be added to the facility. The venue will now be referred to as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, according to the White House. This name change has drawn significant criticism from scholars and lawmakers who argue it violates existing laws concerning the center's designation as a memorial to President Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, according to Los Angeles Times, CBS News, and Reuters.

Musician Chuck Redd, who has hosted the annual concert since 2006, stated, "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website... I chose to cancel our concert," implying that the decision stems from moral grounds as well as artistic integrity. The center's website officially lists the concert as canceled. Notably, Trump's involvement with the Kennedy Center has been controversial as he reshaped its leadership, pushing out previous board members and neglecting the center during his first term, according to Los Angeles Times, CBS News, and Reuters.

The board’s decision to add Trump's name has incited backlash from Democratic lawmakers, including Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who filed a lawsuit against the renaming, calling it a "flagrant violation of the rule of law." The law explicitly prohibits changing the Kennedy Center's designation as a living memorial to JFK without an act of Congress, creating legal and ethical questions surrounding the recent changes implemented by Trump's administration, according to Los Angeles Times, CBS News, and Reuters.