People work as they remove the lettering referencing U.S. President Donald Trump from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, after a federal judge ordered that President Trump's name be removed from the building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 12, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
Workers began removing President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center on Friday, executing a federal court order the administration's lawyers attempted to block overnight.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the renaming unconstitutional, stating Congress created the Kennedy Center and only Congress can rename it.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed the successful lawsuit challenging Trump's board's December 2025 decision to rename the venue without congressional approval or public input. The judge ruled in favor and gave the administration 14 days to comply.
Trump's lawyers argued the removal would confuse the public and waste money, filing a Department of Justice appeal Thursday night. Yet Trump's name had already been scrubbed from the center's website and social media, NBC Washington reported.
Trump responded to the original ruling on social media, "Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into 'NEVER NEVER LAND,'" he wrote.
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