US appeals court rejects bid to block removal of Trump name from Kennedy Center
Earlier the same day, both the Trump administration and the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees had appealed the ruling issued by a federal district judge.
KATHMANDU: A U.S. federal appeals court has denied a last-minute request by the Justice Department to temporarily block a lower court order requiring the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, setting the stage for the directive to proceed.
Earlier the same day, both the Trump administration and the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees had appealed the ruling issued by a federal district judge.
The order required that Trump’s name be removed from the building by midnight Friday.
By Friday afternoon, construction crews had already begun erecting barriers around the section of the Kennedy Center bearing Trump’s name in preparation for its removal. Witnesses at the scene described workers actively preparing the area as the deadline approached.
Patrick Nure, an artist present at the site on Friday evening, said the moment reflected relief among some in the arts community, stating he was glad the space had been “saved from humiliation.”
The dispute traces back to leadership changes made after Trump began his second term in January, when he replaced the Kennedy Center’s governing board. In December, the newly restructured board voted to add Trump’s name to the institution’s official title.
Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, who also serves on the board, later filed a lawsuit challenging the decision and seeking to restore the institution’s original name.
On May 29, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the name change required congressional approval and ordered the removal of all references to Trump from the center’s branding within 14 days.
The ruling also blocked plans tied to a proposed two-year renovation closure reportedly announced by Trump, which had been scheduled to begin later this year.
Established in 1971 and named after President John F. Kennedy, the center is widely regarded as the United States’ national cultural hub for music, opera, theater, dance, and other performing arts.
The naming dispute has already disrupted scheduled programming, with some performers and groups canceling or withdrawing from planned events.
