A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Center’s title. The Kennedy Center’s legal counsel directed staff to change email signatures, letterhead and official materials by June 12, while the center says it is complying as
For the second time in less than a day’s worth of internal paperwork, Kennedy Center staff are being told to erase President Donald Trump’s name from official life at the institution. This time, the deadline is specific: June 12.
Attorneys for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts instructed employees to remove signs and other materials carrying Trump’s name from the institution’s title by June 12, complying with a federal judge’s order.
In a June 4 memo obtained by USA TODAY. the center’s legal counsel told employees to immediately change email signatures. letterhead and other documents so the name appears as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. ” or “Kennedy Center.” The memo also says changes to signs — including removing Trump’s name from the building’s facade — along with updates to templates. forms. brochures and website pages must be completed no later than Friday. June 12.
The directive comes after U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 opinion ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center’s title within 14 days. directing that signage be taken down and Trump’s name stripped from all official materials. Cooper ruled Trump’s name was added illegally.
The Trump administration has said it will appeal the decision. Shortly after the ruling, Trump said he planned to transfer control of the center to Congress.
The Kennedy Center says it is moving ahead with the court order even as it reviews options. “We are complying with the court’s order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump’s leadership. ” Roma Daravi. the center’s vice president of public relations. said in a statement.
The fight over the name traces back to the center’s board vote in December to rename the Kennedy Center the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” Within less than 24 hours. new signage appeared on the building’s exterior reading “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”.
Cooper. an appointee of former President Barack Obama. wrote that the board of trustees — made up of primarily Trump loyalists — violated the 1964 federal law that created the center to honor the 35th president. Cooper said the statute makes clear the “Kennedy Center must be named for. and is meant to honor. President Kennedy alone.”.
Cooper’s order does not stop at the name. In his ruling, he also overturned Trump’s planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center that was set to begin in July to accommodate massive renovations.
The memo to staff says the judge did not rule against temporarily closing the center, but questioned the board’s March decision process. The legal counsel argued the board’s vote was “inappropriate and that any subsequent vote must take more information into account.”
The memo further states: “The Court did not rule that the Center must stay open during the renovations, and did not require that the Center present any particular programming on-site during the renovations. The Center is considering its options and will provide further guidance shortly.”
The closure was approved in a March vote by the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees. In a 94-page opinion. Cooper questioned the credibility of the conclusion reached by Matt Floca. the center’s executive director. that renovations couldn’t be carried out without shutting down the center for the pubic.
Cooper also said the center’s board “lacked any meaningful say” in the matter when it voted for the closure March 16. Trump had already announced closure plans on Truth Social on Feb. 1.
The sequence now forces staff to work backward from a court order with concrete instructions: change the documents that go out today, remove the signage that people see immediately, and update the materials that carry the institution’s identity across the web and in print by June 12.
Kennedy Center Christopher Cooper Trump-Kennedy Center federal court order June 12 deadline email signatures letterhead building facade renovations Truth Social