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Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio filed an emergency request Thursday asking a federal court to prevent the Kennedy Center from placing President Donald Trump’s name on the building’s exterior. The Trump-aligned board majority voted earlier this month to authorize the inscriptions, which would alter the facade to read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.”
The inscription plan includes adding a second dedication if the Trump Kennedy Center Fund raises $100 million, reading “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” The plaza adjacent to the performing arts center would also be renamed to honor Trump. The Kennedy Center committed to delaying any engraving work until Sept. 8 to allow legal proceedings to continue.
Beatty, a Democratic ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, has spearheaded opposition to Trump’s name appearing on the facility. Her legal team, led by attorneys Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, contended the board’s decision violated a prior court order. The Kennedy Center did not immediately provide a response to requests for comment.
In May, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center’s earlier addition of Trump’s name constituted an illegal action and ordered its removal. The institution complied in June but retained scaffolding and tarping at the location where the name had been displayed. Kennedy Center lawyers declined this week to commit to removing the temporary structures, citing ongoing “water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhang.”
Congress designated the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, the year following his assassination. Federal law explicitly bars the board of trustees from converting the center into a memorial for any other individual or from displaying another person’s name on the building’s exterior surfaces.
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