A panel of three judges on Wednesday refused to grant the Kennedy Center board’s request to reinstate President Donald Trump’s name on the institution. This decision occurred while the board is in the process of appealing a previous ruling that declared the name change illegal and led to its removal.
This development is another setback for the board of trustees. Trump serves as its chairman in this ongoing situation which began earlier in the year. The Kennedy Center was temporarily renamed the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The inclusion of Trump’s name and the resulting legal dispute have become a symbol of his efforts to leave a lasting mark, including his name, on Washington D.C. during his final term.
The judges wrote in their Wednesday decision that the board did not demonstrate how they would suffer irreparable harm if Trump’s name remained off the building during the appeal process. The board argued that the removal could hinder their fundraising efforts. However, the judges noted that this claim lacked “specific facts or evidence.” The Kennedy Center has not responded to an emailed request for a comment.
“His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people,” said U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, who initiated the lawsuit. “Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down.”
Beatty referred to the tarps hung on scaffolding that had hidden Trump’s name removal, which still covers that section of the building’s marble facade. After assuming office in 2025, Trump replaced the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, who subsequently named him chairman, swiftly adding his name to the building. A federal judge later ruled that this name change was illegal, leading to the ongoing legal conflict.
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