Trump files – President Donald Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal on June 11 to challenge a May 29 federal court order requiring his name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with staff given until June 12 to change signage and official
By June 12, the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was supposed to be stripped of President Donald Trump’s name—after a judge ruled the rebranding violated federal law.
On June 11. with less than a full day left on the deadline. Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal aimed at overturning U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 order. Cooper directed that staff remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center’s title within 14 days. and his ruling also required other signage bearing Trump’s name to come down.
The appeal comes as the Trump administration moves to keep the president’s name atop the iconic Washington, DC, venue—one that sits on the banks of the Potomac River and drew crowds after Cooper’s decision, with people hoping to see the change made.
Cooper’s order followed a lawsuit brought by Democratic U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board. Beatty challenged Trump’s name being added after the Kennedy Center’s board voted in December to rename the venue the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” Within less than 24 hours of that vote. new exterior signage appeared reading “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”.
In his ruling. Cooper said the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees—made up primarily of Trump loyalists—violated the 1964 federal law that created the center to honor President Kennedy. He said the statute makes clear “the Kennedy Center must be named for. and is meant to honor. President Kennedy alone.”.
Cooper also ordered that Trump’s name be removed from all official materials. and the appeal filed on June 11 was designed to push back against the order’s timeline. The move to appeal was directed by the Kennedy Center’s board. according to reporting by The New York Times and the Associated Press. citing people familiar with the board’s actions.
In the sequence of events, the pressure built quickly: a December board vote was followed by new exterior signage within a day; then, after Cooper’s May 29 ruling, the courtroom fight narrowed to a single, fast-moving deadline set for June 12.
The stakes are now tied to whether the appellate step can pause or reverse Cooper’s instructions before the physical and administrative changes take effect. The White House did not immediately provide comment after MISRYOUM reached out to seek a response.
Trump appeal Kennedy Center Christopher Cooper John F. Kennedy Center Potomac River Joyce Beatty federal law signage removal 1964 law DC court