Judges deny request to return Trump’s name to Kennedy Center pending an appeal
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A three-judge panel on Wednesday denied a request from the Kennedy Center’s board to restore President Donald Trump’s name to the institution while the board appeals an earlier ruling that dubbed the name change illegal and had it rescinded.
It’s another setback for the board of trustees, of which Trump is chairman, in a saga that began earlier this year when the Kennedy Center became: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The conspicuous addition, and ensuing legal battle, became symbolic of Trump’s broader push to imprint his legacy — and, in this case, his actual name — on the nation’s capital in his final term.
The panel of judges wrote Wednesday that the board of trustee’s request “failed to show how they will be irreparably injured” if Trump’s name remains off the building through the appeal process.
The board had argued that the removal “threatens to impede” fundraising efforts, but the judges found that claim came without the support of “specific facts or evidence.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
“His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people,” said U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio who filed the lawsuit. “Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down.”
She was referring to tarps hung on scaffolding that had obscured the removal of Trump’s name, and which still veil that part of the building’s marble facade.
When Trump first took office in 2025, he replaced the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, who then named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building. A federal judge then ruled that the name change was illegal, prompting the ensuing legal battle.