A Kennedy Center official told a federal judge Saturday that all references to President Donald Trump indoors, outdoors and online have been removed from the Kennedy Center, in accordance with the court’s extended order requiring their removal by noon.
Construction workers began removing Trump’s name from the building’s facade early Saturday morning, six months after a board hand-picked by the president voted to rename the iconic performing arts venue by adding his name.
Crews removed markings on the building, added in December, that inserted Trump’s name before “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
Several dozen participants gathered and applauded workers who were preparing to remove the president’s name from the building.
A federal judge ruled last month that Trump the name should be deleted before June 12, writing that the center’s board of directors did not have the authority to unilaterally rename the building.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote May 29.
Late Friday evening, the Justice Department requested a 12-hour delay to illustrate its compliance with the court order, attributing the delay to storms.
“Removal work is currently underway and Defendants expect it to be completed in the early morning hours of June 13, 2026,” the DOJ attorneys wrote.
Trump first raised the possibility of adding his name to the Kennedy Center in a post on Truth Social last August.
In a last-ditch attempt to stop the judge’s order, the Kennedy Center attempted to block it Thursday evening. The judge denied that request Friday, hours before the deadline to remove Trump’s name.
In a filing with a federal appeals court seeking to block the judge’s order, the center argued for the first time that removing Trump’s name from the building would result in the return of hundreds of millions of dollars the center collected for renovations due to an unannounced change in the center’s bylaws.
“All of this money, hundreds of millions of dollars, will have to be returned immediately, or not received by the Center,” the filing said.
The document states that “the reason for this clause is that people and businesses who have donated or will donate millions of dollars to the Center were only willing to do so with the name ‘Trump’ on the building.” »
It does not specify how, when or where the change was made to the center’s statutes. The Kennedy Center did not respond to inquiries about when the changes were made and exactly how much money might be at risk.
The Court of Appeal Friday evening rejected the Kennedy Center’s request for a break.
Lawyers for the ex-officio board member who filed the suit, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, told the appeals court in a filing that the center’s argument was “meritless” since the funding issue was never raised in the lower court.
In a statement Saturday morning, Beatty called the removal of Trump’s name a “victory,” saying, “Today’s victory is the beginning of the Kennedy Center’s return to the American people.” The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating. May this send a message across the country that when we stand up, fight back and defend our democracy, we can win. This is just the beginning. »
Kennedy Center lawyers ordered staff last week to remove Trump’s name of all official signage in the building to comply with the judge’s order of May 29. Trump’s name was no longer visible on the center’s website as of Monday, with the site reverting to its former branding “Kennedy Center.”
The May decision also blocked a planned two-year closure of the center requested by Trump’s board to undertake renovations. The judge called the plans “an ill-informed and seemingly predetermined decision.”