The Kennedy Center completely removed President Donald Trump’s name from its building on Saturday. Matt Floca, director of the Kennedy Center, told a judge Court documents The name was officially changed on Saturday. crews finished the work in the early hours of Saturday morning, leaving tarps over scaffolding on the building.
This development follows that Judgment of May 29th that Trump’s board had no authority to rename the federally recognized institution. Judge Christopher Cooper’s 94-page opinion was issued on what would have been 109th birthday of President John F. Kennedy. In it he wrote: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” The order gave the defendants 14 days to remove Trump’s name from the building, website and branding, withdraw pending trademark applications for the “Trump Kennedy Center” and file an affidavit of compliance. cooper prescribed separately an injunction blocking the board’s planned two-year closure for renovations. He then ordered the restoration of voting rights to Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio trustee. Beatty (D-OH) brought the suit in December 2025 against the renaming, the planned closure and the withdrawal of their vote.
As the deadline approached, the Kennedy Center board met voted to appeal the decision. The US Department of Justice, representing the Center, appealed and a Request to stay appeal against the interim injunction. cooper refused this stay On June 12, it was determined that the defendants had shown no irreparable harm or prospect of success in the matter and had already begun to comply with the order. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit an immediate administrative stay is refused in No. 26-5224. The panel gave no reasons and provided information about the broader application for suspension. Beatty’s response was due June 22 and any responses were due June 29. Shortly after midnight on Saturday, the center asked the court to push back the deadline to noon, citing thunderstorms that had delayed the work; The court agreed. The removal was completed early Saturday.
trump, who appointed himself chairman of the board in 2025, criticized the verdict of May 29th in a lengthy Truth Social post. He signaled that he would withdraw from the institution, writing that Cooper “should be ashamed.” In contrast, Beatty said The center “belongs to the American people, not Donald Trump.” The dispute concerns the board permit a roughly $257 million renovation and closure beginning in July. The D.C. District Court is expected to rule on the motion to stay the appeal after briefing ends June 29. Trump’s name could come back if the government prevails on appeal. A parallel lawsuit by preservation groups, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, had sought to block the closure on historic preservation and environmental grounds. Cooper, however, rejected this challenge on May 29, when he ruled for Beatty.
