A federal judge on Friday denied the Kennedy Center’s bid to pause a court-ordered removal of Trump’s name from the performing arts building, letting stand a deadline for the institution to strip the president’s name from its facade and materials by day’s end.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper made the denial on the same day workers were already preparing to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center’s exterior in Washington, D.C. The judge had originally ruled on May 29 that Trump’s name was illegally added to the facility and ordered it removed within 14 days, according to The Guardian.
Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center voted on December 19, 2025 to rename the institution the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to AP News. The board took that action despite opposition from Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who filed a lawsuit in late December arguing that only Congress has the authority to change the Kennedy Center’s official name.
Cooper agreed with Beatty’s legal argument. In his May 29 ruling, he found that the Kennedy Center board lacked the authority to unilaterally rename the institution without an act of Congress, according to Axios. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” the judge wrote.
By June 4, the Kennedy Center’s lawyers had instructed staff to remove all references to Trump from the building, website, and official communications, according to The Independent. A memo to staff said the institution should be referred to as “The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or simply “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center board appealed Cooper’s ruling on June 11, one day before the deadline was set to expire. But on Friday, Cooper denied their request for a stay—a legal pause that would have delayed the removal. The board’s last-minute effort to keep Trump’s name on the building thus failed, and the removal proceeded as ordered.
Sources
- The Guardian — Judge’s denial of pause and original May 29 ruling that Trump’s name was illegally added
- AP News — Kennedy Center board vote on December 19, 2025 to add Trump’s name
- Axios — Judge Cooper’s ruling that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center’s name
- The Independent — June 4 memo instructing staff to remove Trump references by June 12
- Reuters — Trump administration filing an appeal of the court order
- The New York Times — Kennedy Center board’s appeal on June 11
