Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is leading legislation aimed at what Democrats describe as President Donald Trump’s "narcissism," seeking to bar sitting presidents from putting their own names on federal buildings. 

"For Trump to put his name on federal buildings is arrogant, and it is illegal," Sanders said in a press release Tuesday. "We must put an end to this narcissism — and that’s what this bill does.

"It’s no secret that President Trump is undermining democracy and moving this country toward authoritarianism," Sanders added. "Part of that strategy is to create the myth of the ‘Great Leader’ by naming public buildings after himself — something that dictators have done throughout history." 

Sanders was joined by Democratic Maryland senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks in introducing the Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego Act Tuesday, which would "prohibit the naming, renaming, designating, or redesignating of any Federal building, land, or other asset in the name of a sitting President, and for other purposes," according to text of the bill. 

SMITHSONIAN REPLACES TRUMP PORTRAIT DISPLAY, STRIPS JAN. 6 AND IMPEACHMENT REFERENCES FROM ACCOMPANYING TEXT

If the legislation should pass, a federal building, piece of land or other federal asset that is currently named after a sitting president must be reverted to the name established by federal law before that president took office, according to the text of the bill. 

The legislation follows Democratic outrage over the renaming of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December 2025. 

When asked about the senators' remarks and legislation, the White House told Fox News Digital the Trump administration isn't focused on "branding." 

"Overdue upgrades of national landmarks and lasting peace deals are historic initiatives that would not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership," White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Huston told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "The administration’s focus isn’t on smart branding, but delivering on President Trump’s goal of Making America Great Again."

Previous presidents have had their names etched into the nation’s landmarks and institutions while still in office. Washington, D.C., for example, was named in 1791 while George Washington was serving as president as the new federal capital took shape. And, in 1930, Interior Secretary Ray Lyman Wilbur said the Boulder Canyon Project’s dam would be called the Hoover Dam during Herbert Hoover’s presidency. 

The Trump administration announced in December 2025 that the center's board of trustees unanimously voted to rename the center, saying Trump saved the institution from financial ruin during his second term. 

Presidents appoint the majority of the board's trustees, and Trump dismissed the previously appointed Board of Trustees "who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture" in the early weeks of his second administration. Trump also serves as the center's chairman of the board, the first president to fill the position. 

KENNEDY CENTER BLASTS ‘FAR-LEFT BIAS’ IN RATINGS COVERAGE, POINTS TO NO. 1 DEMOGRAPHICS TIE

When asked about the legislation, Trump–Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi underscored Trump's work to revitalize the center after "years of neglect." 

"President Trump deserves credit for saving America’s cultural center after years of neglect — as the very legislators attacking him now sat idly by while the center fell into disrepair," Daravi said. "Thanks to the chairman’s leadership and record-breaking fundraising, the Trump Kennedy Center is a thriving, bipartisan institution that welcomes patrons of all backgrounds — even those peddling baseless legislation to score political points." 

President of the Trump–Kennedy Center Richard Grenell told Fox News Tuesday that "President Trump has saved the arts institution," noting that when he was tapped to lead the center, it was relying on debt reserves to pay staff. 

"The board put President Trump forward, because President Trump saved the Kennedy Center. We have, for decades, watched the Kennedy Center be ignored by the very people now who are standing up and complaining about the rescuer," Grenell said. "They're complaining about the fireman who's come in to literally rescue and put out the fire."

TRUMP SAYS 'TRIUMPHAL ARCH' MONUMENT CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN WITHIN 2 MONTHS IN DC: REPORT

Grenell said in 2025 that he was rolling out a "commonsense plan" to make the center prosperous again, including getting rid of debt, expanding fundraising and its endowment and restoring programming that the administration argues appeals to a broader national audience. Fox News Digital previously reported the center nearly doubled its fundraising during the Kennedy Center Honors awards show in 2025 compared to the Biden administration, raising a record $23 million during the December 2025 event. 

Democrats feverishly came out against the renaming of the iconic cultural center, and Sanders said in December 2025 he would introduce legislation to prevent sitting presidents from renaming federal property after themselves, slamming the Kennedy Center name change as showing Trump's alleged "arrogance" and "narcissism." 

Van Hollen said Tuesday that "Trump doesn’t get to slap his name on any public institution he chooses."

"We don’t have kings or dictators in America, and this legislation stops him or any future sitting president from creating monuments to glorify themselves — because these landmarks belong to the people, not to self-worshipers," the Maryland senator continued. 

The U.S. Institute of Peace also was formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in December 2025 as the administration continues working to dismantle the agency. 

The institute is an independent, national institution funded by Congress that was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration to promote peace and diplomacy on the international stage. 

The White House defended the rename in a comment to Fox News Digital at the time, saying the agency is a "a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace," adding that Trump "ended eight wars in less than a year."

Lawmakers filed a lawsuit to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center in December 2025, while the shuttering of the Institute of Peace is still embroiled in court battles focused on whether the Trump administration controls the congressionally created agency. 

Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., joined the trio in co-sponsoring the legislation. 

The Washington Post took some heat on social media this week after promoting a column about Erika Kirk’s wardrobe. 

The Washington Post published a Jan. 8 piece headlined, "Erika Kirk is walking a fine line in a glittering pantsuit," which put a spotlight on wardrobe decisions the Turning Point USA CEO has made since her late husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated last year. 

"Kirk, a mother to two toddlers, continues to take on public-facing leadership duties while promoting traditional ideas about prioritizing marriage and motherhood, and her clothes are attempting to walk the same high wire… her styling of late suggests that she’s aware that she now needs to be able to blend into mainstream, secular, political contexts well enough to be taken seriously — but not so well as to be mistaken for a career woman or a feminist," Washington Post fashion writer Ashley Fetters Maloy wrote.

ERIKA KIRK OPENS UP ABOUT GRIEF AND FAITH AT CHRISTMAS: ‘LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOW’

The column, which went on to detail specific outfits recently worn by Kirk, irked many when it was shared on X by the newspaper on Jan. 10. Many appeared to take issue with the wording of the social media post. 

"Column: Erika Kirk, a mother to two toddlers, continues to take on public-facing leadership duties while promoting traditional ideas about prioritizing marriage and motherhood. Here’s how her clothes are attempting to walk the same line," The Washington Post wrote on X in a post that was widely criticized. 

Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema wrote, "For crying out loud will this s--- never end."

"Erika isn’t ‘prioritizing marriage’ because a radical leftist shot and killed her husband Good Lord. These people will never stop attacking the Kirk family," longtime Kirk family friend Jack Posobiec wrote. 

"I've been reporting for a quarter century now, and I still remember at my first daily newspaper job, we had to read a style guide that specifically cautioned reporters to be very careful about describing women's clothes in depth because it can be viewed as sexist," Axios reporter Marc Caputo responded. 

Pundit Jason Rantz asked, "How does this get printed?" 

ERIKA KIRK REFLECTS ON LIFE, LOSS AND FAITH IN FIRST TV INTERVIEW SINCE CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH

Conservateur founder Jayme Franklin added, "The left will lament how difficult it is to be a woman in America by claiming that we’re unfairly judged for our appearance and demeanor. Yet, in reality, the only women who are routinely subjected to that exact kind of scrutiny, are conservative women, who are met with the most vicious and antiquated attacks imaginable from the very people who profess to champion women’s empowerment."

Many others took to social media with thoughts on the piece:

‘WE ARE NOT AFRAID’: ERIKA KIRK VOWS TPUSA WILL CONTINUE CAMPUS DEBATES NATIONWIDE

Erika Kirk was named the CEO of TPUSA after her husband's death.

The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Barry Morphew, accused of killing his wife Suzanne Morphew, is back in court Monday for the first time in months, as prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for the next phase of a case that began with her disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020.

Morphew is expected to enter a plea in an Alamosa County courtroom on first-degree murder charges tied to his wife’s death.

Suzanne disappeared from the couple’s home in Chaffee County on May 10, 2020, prompting a massive search that initially turned up few answers.

Morphew was first charged with her murder in 2021, but those charges were dropped the following year after prosecutors cited issues with the case and said they were close to discovering new evidence that could change its direction. His defense team argued at the time the case was dismissed because prosecutors were unlikely to win at trial.

BARRY MORPHEW ACCUSED OF WIFE SUZANNE’S MURDER: SEE HOW THE 5-YEAR COLORADO MURDER MYSTERY UNRAVELED

After the charges were dropped, Morphew left Colorado and relocated to Cave Creek, Arizona — more than 600 miles from where Suzanne disappeared. While living there, he kept a low profile and used aliases, including "Bruce" and "Lee Moore." Acquaintances later told Fox News Digital they were unaware of his connection to the high-profile Colorado case until his re-arrest.

Suzanne’s remains were discovered in September 2023 in a shallow grave in the San Luis Valley, roughly an hour south of the family’s home. An autopsy later ruled her death a homicide.

BARRY MORPHEW MAY USE MYSTERY DNA FOR DEFENSE IN WIFE’S MURDER: FORMER PROSECUTOR

According to court records, a powerful animal tranquilizer known as BAM — a combination of butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine — was found in Suzanne's bone marrow. Prosecutors said the presence of a metabolized form of the drug indicates she was alive long enough to process it, ruling out accidental or environmental contamination.

SUZANNE’S BROTHER CALLS BARRY MORPHEW ‘SOULLESS PREDATOR’ WITH 'NO REDEMPTION' AS JUDGE WEIGHS BAIL REQUEST

The indictment alleges Morphew had access to BAM through his work with deer and was the only private citizen in the area known to possess the drug at the time of Suzanne’s disappearance. Investigators have also pointed to evidence involving a tranquilizer dart rifle found in the home, along with phone and vehicle data they say contradict Morphew’s account of events.

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A Colorado grand jury re-indicted Morphew in June 2025. He was arrested in Goodyear, Arizona, extradited to Colorado and later released on bond in September after supporters helped post part of his $3 million bond. He remains under house arrest with an ankle monitor.

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Legal analysts said the defense is expected to focus on alternate suspect theories as the case moves forward.

Colin McCallin, a Colorado-based attorney and former deputy district attorney, previously told Fox News Digital he expects Morphew’s legal team to challenge the prosecution’s narrative and attempt to introduce evidence pointing to another potential suspect as proceedings continue.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

A suspect was in custody Saturday after an apparent arson attack set a Mississippi synagogue ablaze, destroying Torahs and prompting an investigation involving the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The blaze broke out shortly after 3 a.m. at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, the state's largest synagogue. No congregants were injured, officials said.

Photos from the scene showed severe damage to an administrative office and the synagogue’s library, where several Torahs were destroyed or damaged.

Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed that a person was taken into custody following an investigation that also included the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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"Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship," Horhn said in a statement.

Officials did not immediately release the name of the suspect or what charges the person was facing.

Beth Israel Congregation was previously targeted in a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967, an attack linked to the synagogue's involvement in civil rights efforts, according to the Institute for Southern Jewish Life, which also operates from the building.

"As Jackson’s only synagogue, Beth Israel is a beloved institution, and it is the fellowship of our neighbors and extended community that will see us through," the institute said in a statement.

MAMDANI DISPUTES ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION AMID BLOWBACK FROM JEWISH COMMUNITY ABOUT DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

The American Jewish Committee also released a statement saying it was "outraged" by the alleged attack.

"This hateful act is only the most recent symptom of the dangerous rising antisemitism facing Jewish communities across the country and around the world," it said.

The Anti-Defamation League called the incident a "deliberate, targeted attack on the Jewish community."

"Beth Israel survived a KKK bombing in 1967," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. "That it has been attacked again, amid a surge of antisemitic incidents across the US, is a stark reminder: antisemitic violence is escalating, and it demands total condemnation and swift action from everyone — including community leaders, law enforcement, and government officials."

The synagogue's president, Zach Shemper, said the congregation was still assessing the damage and had received outreach from other houses of worship, according to Mississippi Today. Shemper added that services will be suspended indefinitely.

One Torah that survived the Holocaust was not damaged in the fire, the outlet reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A federal judge in Washington state on Friday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing key parts of an executive order that sought to change how states administer federal elections, ruling the president lacked authority to apply those provisions to Washington and Oregon.

U.S. District Judge John Chun held that several provisions of Executive Order 14248 violated the separation of powers and exceeded the president’s authority.

"As stated by the Supreme Court, although the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, ‘[i]n the framework of our Constitution, the President’s power to see that the laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a lawmaker,’" Chun wrote in his 75-page ruling.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP'S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in a statement: "President Trump cares deeply about the integrity of our elections and his executive order takes lawful actions to ensure election security. This is not the final say on the matter and the Administration expects ultimate victory on the issue."

Washington and Oregon filed a lawsuit in April contending the executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March violated the Constitution by attempting to set rules for how states conduct elections, including ballot counting, voter registration and voting equipment.

DOJ TARGETS NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS AS PART OF TRUMP ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSH

"Today’s ruling is a huge victory for voters in Washington and Oregon, and for the rule of law," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in response to the Jan. 9 ruling, according to The Associated Press. "The court enforced the long-standing constitutional rule that only States and Congress can regulate elections, not the Election Denier-in-Chief."

Executive Order 14248 directed federal agencies to require documentary proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms and sought to require that absentee and mail-in ballots be received by Election Day in order to be counted.

The order also instructed the attorney general to take enforcement action against states that include such ballots in their final vote tallies if they arrive after that deadline.

"We oppose requirements that suppress eligible voters and will continue to advocate for inclusive and equitable access to registration while protecting the integrity of the process. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that all qualified voters have a constitutionally protected right to vote and to have their votes counted," said Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs in a statement issued when the lawsuit was filed last year.

"We will work with the Washington Attorney General's Office to defend our constitutional authority and ensure Washington's elections remain secure, fair, and accessible," Hobbs added.

Chun noted in his ruling that Washington and Oregon do not certify election results on Election Day, a practice shared by every U.S. state and territory, which allows them to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day as long as the ballots were postmarked on or before that day and arrived before certification under state law.

The Illinois Republican Party has blasted as "divisive" the hiring language the Obama Foundation is using for the Obama Presidential Center, arguing it shows the privately run project is using public land to advance a political agenda.

The Obama Foundation, which is developing the hotly debated center on Chicago’s South Side, recently advertised roughly 150 jobs at the facility, stating that successful applicants are expected to align with the foundation’s "anti-racism" goals.

"It’s an Illinois Democrat tradition to insert divisive, far-left policies into the lives of everyday Americans and to balk at the rule of law," Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi told Fox News Digital.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

"The Obama Center is no different. It is a recipient of taxpayer funds built on public lands and flouts ‘anti-racism’ hiring goals," Salvi said. "But such employment practices sound discriminatory and unmoored from any assessment of merit."

The Obama Foundation secured control of a 19.3-acre section of Jackson Park — often described as Chicago’s equivalent of Central Park — under a 99-year agreement for just $10, after city officials approved the project under the premise that the center would function as a civic institution serving the public interest.

Opponents argued the land transfer violated the public trust doctrine, a legal principle requiring public land to serve a public purpose, and filed multiple lawsuits seeking to halt construction. The courts ultimately allowed the project to proceed without adjudicating the merits of those claims.

While commonly referred to as a presidential "library," the Obama Presidential Center is not operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and does not function as a traditional presidential library.

Instead, it is run entirely by the Obama Foundation, the former president’s private nonprofit organization, which also oversees leadership and civic programs reflecting the values and priorities of former President Barack Obama.

The foundation will operate from the center and oversee a 225-foot-tall museum, conference facilities, a gymnasium and a regulation-sized NBA court. There will also be a digital library, although it will not house original presidential records in the same manner as NARA-run libraries.

Construction costs for the site have ballooned from an original estimate of $330 million to at least $850 million, and the project has also relied on publicly funded infrastructure work surrounding the site.

OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS

The foundation committed to creating a $470 million endowment — a reserve fund commonly used by nonprofits and universities to help cover long-term operating costs by generating investment income — but its latest tax filings show that only $1 million has ever been deposited.

Salvi said the hiring language reinforces concerns that the Obama Presidential Center is operating as an ideological institution despite being built on public land under a civic justification.

For instance, job postings state that the foundation is "deeply committed to creating an actively anti-racist organization, leveraging our global reach to combat systemic racism and inequity wherever it exists."

"Anti-racism" is the belief that people must not simply eschew racism, but must actively fight any perception of it. The term came into widespread use amid the rise of Black Lives Matter, and was touted by author Ibram X. Kendi in his 2019 book, "How to Be an Antiracist." Critics say anti-racism stresses outcomes over opportunity and assigns collective guilt to people who may be unfairly viewed as "oppressors" based on their own skin color.

The Obama Center's postings link to the foundation’s anti-racism and equity statement, which describes a commitment to embedding anti-racism into hiring, leadership programs and organizational practices. It also shows two people of color marching and holding hands with their fists raised in the air.

"In the United States, we are still grappling — in ways large and small — with the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and the scourge of racism," the statement reads.

"That’s why our goal is to make sure every member of the Foundation team is committed to anti-racism, sets expectations for how we will engage, and makes space for the work," the statement continues. "We’re focused on making sure our actions match our intent — removing barriers for diverse vendors, building anti-racism and equity into our hiring practices, and recruiting diverse cohorts for our leadership programs."

OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS

Critics like Salvi have also pointed to the project’s long-standing emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as evidence that ideological priorities were embedded into the center from its inception.

Those initiatives have already given rise to real-world legal and financial disputes.

As Fox News Digital previously reported, a Black-owned construction subcontractor filed a $40 million discrimination lawsuit tied to the project, alleging racially discriminatory treatment by an engineering firm involved in construction. The engineering firm has argued that diversity-driven contracting decisions resulted in less qualified subcontractors being selected, contributing to inferior workmanship, delays and cost overruns.

WATCH: The Brian Kilmeade Show: Obama Presidential Center rocked by $40M racial bias lawsuit

"The Illinois Republican Party stands with President Trump and the Justice Department to end the tyranny of DEI and woke, performative politics plaguing the federal government, our military and the private sector," Salvi said.

"As the Trump Administration investigates such employment practices at-large, we will continue to demand accountability and fairness from civic and educational sites like the Obama Center claims to be."

The Obama Foundation responded to criticism of its hiring language by pointing to its stated values.

"Our values remain the same as the day we began; we will continue to actively work to combat racism as we strive to build a more perfect union," Emily Bittner, the foundation’s vice president of communications, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Supporters of the project have said the Obama Presidential Center will serve as a cultural and educational anchor on Chicago’s South Side and reflect the values and legacy of former President Obama.

New video footage shared Saturday shows the minutes that lead up to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal agent, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS shared video on its X account that appeared to be three-and-a-half minutes of footage taken by a citizen from inside a nearby home showing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and multiple vehicles out in the residential street.

A car can be heard honking its horn repeatedly while someone can be heard continually blowing a whistle. At one point, the video pans over to what appears to be Renee Nicole Good’s Honda Pilot that is parked in the middle of the street.

"The media continues to fail the American people in their reporting on the events in Minneapolis," DHS claimed in the post. "New evidence shows that the anti-ICE agitator was STALKING and IMPEDING a law enforcement operation over the course of the morning."

LEFT-WING GROUP BACKS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ANTI-ICE AGITATORS NATIONWIDE

DHS further criticized the media, writing: "The evidence speaks for itself. The legacy media has lost the trust of the American people."

WATCH: CELLPHONE VIDEO SHOWS DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING: 

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The video was released three days after an ICE agent fatally shot Good as she allegedly drove a vehicle toward officers.

The circumstances that led to her death have ignited a firestorm of criticism of the Trump administration and ICE.

Federal officials have defended the ICE agent’s actions as self-defense and described the Minneapolis shooting as an act of "domestic terrorism," while Democratic leaders have rejected that characterization and sharply condemned the officer’s conduct.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.