A renewed legal fight over President Donald Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center is back before a federal judge, with opponents arguing that the cultural institution is attempting to sidestep an earlier court order.
During a hearing in Washington on Thursday, an attorney representing Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to prevent the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from adding Trump’s name to its facade.
The dispute centers on whether the center’s board can legally attach Trump’s name to the building, which Congress established as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy.
Cooper had ruled in May that Trump’s name must be removed, finding that the center’s official name was established by Congress and could not be changed by the board alone.
The controversy resurfaced after the Kennedy Center’s board voted on August 13 to revise the wording planned for the building. Under the proposal, the facade would identify the institution as the “John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump.” The surrounding grounds would also be called the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
Beatty’s attorney, Nathaniel Zelinsky, described the board’s action as a direct challenge to the earlier ruling.
Beatty, who sits on the Kennedy Center board because of her congressional position, filed the original lawsuit after Trump’s name appeared alongside Kennedy’s on the building in December.
The Trump administration has maintained that the latest wording does not amount to a renaming. In a filing submitted earlier this week, the Justice Department argued that the building would continue to carry the Kennedy Center name and that the additional reference to Trump merely recognizes his role in restoring and renovating the facility.
“There is no renaming here,” Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers told the court.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was appointed by Trump to assist with oversight of the Kennedy Center, defended the board’s decision outside the courthouse. He said the board had voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new designation and credited Trump with efforts to address the center’s deteriorating condition.
The administration has also outlined plans for a two-year closure to carry out renovations, warning that without major intervention the facility could deteriorate to the point where it becomes unsafe.
Cooper pushed back against suggestions that the court case was preventing repairs. He said his previous order did not stop the administration from carrying out necessary work at the center.
The judge’s latest consideration follows an earlier setback for the administration. A federal appeals court previously declined to allow Trump’s name to be restored while the administration challenges Cooper’s ruling.
For now, the Kennedy Center will remain without Trump’s name on its facade. The administration told the court after Thursday’s hearing that it would refrain from adding the new inscription until October 8, giving Cooper additional time to consider the dispute.
