WASHINGTON - A Democratic trustee on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board has filed a request asking a federal court to stop Republican President Donald Trump’s name from being newly inscribed on the center’s façade, following a contentious board vote earlier this month and a previous judicial ruling that said only Congress can change the memorial’s name.
In a filing submitted late on Tuesday, Representative Joyce Beatty, who serves on the Kennedy Center board by virtue of her congressional office, accused the board of acting in "naked defiance" of the prior court decision. The filing seeks additional proceedings to obtain an order halting the reinstallation of President Trump’s name on the building, an action that could occur as soon as September 8 absent court intervention.
The dispute stems from a 20-3 board vote on August 13, when the trustees, many of whom were appointed by the president, approved changes to the center’s signage that would read "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump," and voted to designate the center’s grounds as the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza." The board also voted to close the Kennedy Center for two years.
Beatty originally sued the administration last year after the board moved the president’s name ahead of President Kennedy’s on the building’s signage. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the board exceeded its authority when it unilaterally renamed the site, which was established as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy after his 1963 assassination. Cooper found that while the board has broad discretion over operational matters, it does not have the power to alter the memorial name bestowed by Congress, writing that "only Congress can change it."
Following the May ruling, the administration removed President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center’s white marble façade in June and a large tarp has since covered the wall. The administration sought to keep the name visible while it appealed, but a federal appeals court in July denied that request.
In the joint court filing this week, lawyers for the Trump administration disputed Representative Beatty’s characterization of the board’s actions and said they expected the record to show the trustees exercised prudence in their decisions. The filing also stated that the tarp and scaffolding currently at the site are in place for water testing and structural repairs to an overhang on the roof.
Beatty’s legal team called that explanation a "pretextual justification," asserting the coverings and scaffolding are intended to "frustrate the intent of the Court’s order that the Center be returned to a memorial exclusively honoring President Kennedy." The filing argues that adding phrases such as "Restored and Renovated by" or "Endowed by" before President Trump’s name, and renaming the grounds, provides no lawful basis to evade the court’s earlier ruling.
The renewed court action follows a broader pattern of the president seeking to reshape public institutions and federal sites. Last week, an appeals court directed the administration to halt construction on a $400 million ballroom that Mr. Trump plans to build at the location of the White House’s demolished East Wing.
Legal posture and potential timeline
- Beatty is asking the court to schedule additional proceedings aimed at stopping the reinstallation of President Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center’s façade.
- The filing notes the possibility the name could be reattached as early as September 8 unless the court intervenes.
- The administration maintains the coverings are for necessary water testing and structural repairs, a rationale Beatty’s lawyers contest.
The filings set the stage for a further legal confrontation over the limits of the board’s authority, the meaning of the center as a congressional memorial, and the timing of any physical changes to the site.