US senators target Trump branding of federal institutions

The measure would prohibit federal assets from being named or renamed after a sitting president

A group of US senators has introduced legislation that would prohibit naming or renaming federal buildings, land, and other government property after sitting presidents. The move aims to counter US President Donald Trump’s efforts to link his personal brand to public infrastructure and programs.

US Senator Bernie Sanders, joined by Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, announced on Tuesday the Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego (SERVE) Act, which would bar what they called illegal and self-serving efforts to brand public institutions with the name of a sitting president. The bill’s sponsors have submitted the two-page proposal as an amendment to government funding legislation currently before the Senate.

The move follows recent efforts by the Trump administration to put his name on prominent national institutions. While US leaders are often honored with their names on naval vessels, currency, buildings, and other institutions, Trump has become the first US head of state to do so while in office.

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Sanders, one of the new bill’s lead sponsors, claimed that Trump was “undermining democracy and moving this country toward authoritarianism,” adding that part of that strategy was creating a “myth of the ‘Great Leader’” by naming public buildings after himself, something he said “dictators have done throughout history.”

The senator claimed that Trump putting his name on federal buildings was “arrogant” and “illegal,” and that legislation would “put an end to this narcissism.”

Since returning to the Oval Office last January, Trump has had several buildings and federal initiatives named or renamed after him, including the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace, the Trump-class USS Defiant battleship, the prescription drug website TrumpRx, and the Trump Gold Card visa.

One of the most controversial moves was the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to include Trump’s name – a step that has prompted protests from members of the public and from performing artists.