Kennedy Center confirms Trump's name removal from building, website following court order
WASHINGTON, DC: Kennedy Center on Saturday, June 13, informed the judge that Trump’s name had been removed from the building and cultural center’s website after the court had given the Trump administration a deadline of Friday to do so.
In a decisive ruling on Friday, a federal court ordered the immediate removal of President Donald J Trump's name from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Kennedy Center removes all references to Trump
An officer from the Kennedy Center told the federal judge that all references to President Donald Trump inside, outside, and online have been removed from the cultural center, in compliance with the court’s extended order requiring them to do so by noon.
Workers started removing Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, six months after President Trump's name was added on December 19, after a hand-picked board of trustees voted to rebrand the venue.
Crews removed lettering on the building that inserted Trump’s name before “The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” the original signage that had been in place since construction began in 1964.
A federal judge ruled last month that Trump’s name must be removed by June 12, noting that the center’s board did not have the authority to unilaterally rename the building.
The court also noted that Congress was crystal clear when it codified the site as a living memorial to the slain president, meaning any modifications require explicit statutory legislation rather than a unilateral executive directive.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” US District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote on May 29.
DOJ sought extension after missing deadline
The Justice Department, late Friday, demanded an extension of 12 hours to illustrate its compliance with the court’s order after failing to defend Trump’s name on the Center's facade during Friday afternoon's hearing.
The department has cited thunderstorms as the reason behind missing the deadline. “The removal work is presently ongoing, and Defendants expect it will conclude in the early hours of the morning of June 13, 2026,” DOJ lawyers wrote.
Trump first came up with the idea of adding his name to the Kennedy Center in a Truth Social post last August.
In a last-ditch effort to halt the judge’s order, the Kennedy Center sought to block it late Thursday. The judge denied that request on Friday, hours before the deadline for removing Trump’s name.
