John F. Kennedy’s only grandson is taking on a new role in his battle against the Trump administration.
Jack Schlossberg, grandson of the murdered president via his daughter Caroline, has been appointed to the America250 Commission by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer announced the appointment in a video posted to social media, writing in the accompanying post, ”We need someone who will make sure America’s 250th birthday celebrates our nation and our values. And I can’t think of a better person than Jack to take on that mission.”
“Your job: fight back, and I know you will,” Schumer told Schlossberg. “I’ll make you proud,” the 32-year-old said in response.
The America250 Commission was initially established as a bipartisan effort, but in recent months President Donald Trump has sought to gain further control over the commission.
A recent report in The Atlantic detailed the struggle for control over the country’s 250th birthday celebrations that is currently taking place, with Trump appointee Ariel Abergel calling on four Republican commissioners, including former Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Mitch McConnell, to resign and make way for new appointees friendlier to Trump.
Abandoning all pretense at bipartisanship, the president spent much of a speech intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence last month railing against his political opponents.
Referring to the Democrats who didn’t vote for his “One Big Beautiful Bill” during a speech in Des Moines, Trump said, “They wouldn’t vote only because they hate Trump, but I hate them, too, you know?”
“I really do. I hate them. I cannot stand them, because I really believe they hate our country.”
Schumer acknowledged this power struggle in his video with Schlossberg, explaining why he made the appointment by saying, ”We know that Donald Trump will try to aggrandize the whole thing and make it part of him and his ego. There’s no better person to push back on that than you, Jack, and I know you will be there and make sure that when we celebrate our 250th birthday, we remember that America is a nation of equal justice, of unity—E Pluribus Unum—of treating everybody with dignity.”
Thanking Schumer for the honor, Schlossberg said, ”We are the heirs of our first revolution 250 years ago, and at our best moments, our country has lived up to our founding documents but we have not always come through.”
”Right now our civil rights are under attack, equal justice is under attack, scientific progress is under attack, and I want to make sure that we celebrate our country for all of its colors and there is no more important task than celebrating our history for the sake of our future.”
Schlossberg has gained a substantial following on social media, where he uses his platform to call out everyone from Trump to his first cousin once removed, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, as well as establishment Democrats. He recently devoted several posts to Trump’s attempts to rename the Kennedy Center, named for his grandfather, arguing that the law states Trump cannot rename the center in honor of himself.
On X, Schlossberg offered Trump a deal, writing, ”If you release your Epstein files, I can help you achieve your life-long goal of changing the name of the Kennedy center.”
The other Democrat appointed to the commission alongside Schlossberg is the director of Ford’s Theatre, Paul R. Tetreault. They join other Democrats already on the Commission, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Alex Padilla and Reps. Dwight Evans and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
