A federal judge denied the Kennedy Center’s last-minute bid to pause a court order requiring the removal of President Trump’s name from the performing arts venue, clearing the way for workers to begin removing the signage on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper rejected the stay request on June 12, the deadline he had set for the removal. Photos and videos showed workers on scaffolding in front of the Kennedy Center preparing to take down Trump’s name from the building’s facade.
Cooper had issued a 94-page ruling on May 29 ordering that Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center, ruling the addition was illegal. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name,” Cooper wrote in his opinion, “and only Congress can change it.” The judge gave the center two weeks to remove Trump’s name from its building, website, and all official branding.
The Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, handpicked by Trump, voted unanimously in December 2025 to rename the center “The Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The move prompted backlash from artists and musicians, some of whom canceled performances in protest.
In early June, the Kennedy Center’s general counsel sent a memo to staff directing them to remove all references to a “Trump Kennedy Center” immediately and to complete changes to signage, brochures, and website pages by June 12. The center had already removed Trump’s name from its website and email communications by early June, in compliance with Cooper’s order.
The legal challenge originated from a lawsuit filed by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio in December 2025. Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, argued that because Congress established the center by statute, only Congress could alter its name. Trump’s administration filed an appeal of Cooper’s ruling on June 11, but the judge denied the request for a stay the following day.
Cooper’s order also temporarily blocked the Kennedy Center from closing for a planned two-year renovation project. The center had approved a $257 million “revitalization project” that would have shuttered the building for extensive renovations.
Sources
- The Guardian — judge’s rejection of pause bid, worker scaffolding, original May 29 ruling, December board vote, June 4 memo, removal timeline
- Reuters — Trump administration’s June 11 appeal filing
- The New York Times — Kennedy Center board appeal details, June ruling context
- PBS — judge’s ruling on illegal addition, closure block
- CNBC — judge’s order and congressional authority ruling
