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A federal judge has denied the Kennedy Center’s last-minute request to keep President Donald Trump’s name on the institution while an appeal moves forward, allowing efforts to remove the name from the building and official materials to proceed.
With the deadline approaching, workers were seen erecting scaffolding around the section of the building bearing Trump’s name as preparations for its removal got underway. According to the Associated Press, onlookers were seen cheering the first signs thart Trump’s names will be removed.
The ruling comes one day after attorneys for Trump and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts filed an appeal of a federal court decision that ordered Trump’s name removed from the national cultural institution. The notice of appeal was filed Thursday as a two-week deadline approached for removing the president’s name from the building and official Kennedy Center materials.
Late Thursday, the Kennedy Center’s largely Trump-appointed board sought a stay that would have allowed Trump’s name to remain on the building during the appeals process. Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied that request Friday.
The appeal follows a recent ruling by Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who found that the Kennedy Center’s board lacked the authority to rename the institution. Cooper ruled that only Congress can change the name of the national cultural center, which was established in memory of President John F. Kennedy and formally dedicated in 1964.
The judge ordered the Kennedy Center to remove Trump’s name from both the building and its official materials within two weeks.
In response to the ruling, Kennedy Center staff were instructed to begin restoring references to the institution’s original name, according to an internal memo first reported by The New York Times. Employees were directed to update official forms, social media accounts, email signatures, voicemail greetings and signage. Staff were also instructed to revert references to either “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or simply “Kennedy Center.”
The dispute stems from a December vote by the Kennedy Center’s board to add Trump’s name to the institution. The president’s name was subsequently added to the building’s façade and other official materials.
The appeal now places the future of the renaming effort before a higher court while the Kennedy Center continues complying with the district court’s order.
