A federal judge denied a bid to delay an order requiring the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the building, leaving the Kennedy Center until 11:59 p.m. Friday to comply.
By Friday evening, crews and scaffolding were visible outside the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a sign that time is running out for the institution’s new fight with the courts.
A federal judge rejected efforts to delay an order issued last month that found the Kennedy Center’s board lacked the authority to change the institution’s name. The decision left the Kennedy Center with a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Friday to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the building, according to Associated Press.
The ruling turns on legal authority—who gets to decide the identity of a nationally recognized arts institution that was established by Congress and later became a national memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy. the iconic Democrat assassinated on November 22. 1963. during his first term in the White House. is central to the center’s identity and mission set by federal statute.
The Kennedy Center’s deadline arrives after the court previously determined that changes to the institution’s name fall under congressional authority rather than the discretion of the board. Attempts by Kennedy Center officials to block or postpone the order did not succeed. so the order remained in effect as the end of Friday drew near.
The fight has taken on national attention not only because of the institution’s prominence. but because of what is at stake symbolically. Supporters of keeping Trump’s name argue for the board’s role in shaping the center’s direction. Opponents say those changes were never legally available to the board in the first place.
Trump. for his part. framed the dispute through political language in a lengthy post after the court’s order last month. In that post. he said. in part. “based on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President. ME. than saving a dying Performing Arts Center. almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country. we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it.”.
The court battle grew out of actions taken by a Trump-appointed board, which voted to add Trump’s name to the center and pursued major renovations that included a temporary closure of the venue. Critics argued the board exceeded its legal authority.
That tension prompted a lawsuit filed by Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, along with an additional suit from preservation advocates. The case culminated in a ruling late last month from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama.
Cooper found that the board acted unlawfully in attaching Trump’s name to the venue. The judge also blocked the planned shutdown. concluding that the board’s approval of a multiyear closure was based on an “ill-informed and seemingly preordained” decision-making process. Cooper ordered the removal of Trump’s name from signage and official materials.
With the appeal rejected and the compliance clock ticking, the Kennedy Center is expected to carry out the court’s order. Late Friday night, Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Kennedy Center Trump name removal court order Christopher Cooper Joyce Beatty performing arts center renovations congressional authority
Wait so they’re literally taking his name off the building tonight??
This is wild because I thought the board could do whatever it wants. But also isn’t the name Trump’s like already tied to something else? Either way I feel like this is just politics dressed up as law.
If they change it, it won’t bring Kennedy back or whatever, like who cares. Also Congress made it what it is, so why is everyone acting shocked the courts have a say? Sounds like a mess either way.
So the deadline is 11:59 Friday… but I’m guessing they’ll just delay again because someone higher up will step in. Courts always do that. Plus it says ‘lacked authority’ but wasn’t Trump like… already on there for years? Feels like this story is missing half the details.