House Republicans on Tuesday advanced a measure that would rename the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ opera house after first lady Melania Trump — as President Trump and his allies boost their influence over the D.C. cultural institution. The renaming was authored by Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, who pointed to the first lady’s role as honorary chair of the Kennedy Center board. The renaming was not requested by the Trump administration, Simpson’s communications director Lexi Hamel told CBS News in an email. “Naming a theater after her is an excellent way to recognize her appreciation for the arts,” Simpson, who chairs the Appropriations Committee’s Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, wrote in a statement. The subcommittee’s top Democrat, Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, criticized the renaming idea in Tuesday’s hearing and said she was surprised to learn about it. “The Republicans snuck in, I think, something that’s slightly divisive, which is r...