The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts appears set to become embroiled in a fresh legal battle after the institution’s board voted to restore Donald Trump’s name to the building, potentially violating a court order.
Allies of the President had earlier seen an effort to rename the Center shot down by a US federal judge, who also ordered a halt to plans to close the performing arts institution for two years as renovation work was carried out.
Trump has claimed the Center is “rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested” and was in urgent need of repairs.
The US President has also derided some of the institution’s programming as biased and anti-American.Critics of the board have argued Congress established the Center and that any significant changes to the institution or building therefore require Congressional approval.
US judge has already pushed back against Trump’s board
Following his re-election in 2024, Trump moved quickly to put his own personal stamp on one of the US’ best-known cultural institutions.
The President ousted the Center’s leadership and replaced them with a hand-picked board of trustees who went on to name him chairman.
Trump’s name was then controversially added to the building’s facade, a move that prompted a lawsuit by Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member and others.
In May, US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the President’s name had been added illegally and ordered that it be removed.
The Kennedy Center appealed against the ruling, but ultimately failed to overturn it.
Trump’s name was finally removed in June, but scaffolding and tarpaulin remained in place, obscuring the building’s facade.
In addition to ordering the removal of the President’s name, Judge Cooper also ruled that a planned two-year closure to carry out renovations could not go ahead.
The judge found the closure, which was due to take effect in early July, was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained”.
The US President ousted the Center’s leadership and replaced them with a hand-picked board of trustees who went on to name him chairman (Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP)New vote likely to spur a fresh legal fight
On Thursday, the Center’s board appeared to sidestep Judge Cooper’s orders.
An hours-long meeting, details of which were shared by Beatty and her lawyers, saw board members vote to add Trump’s name to the building again.
The new facade will read: “The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J Trump”.
In addition, a plaza in front of the Center will also be renamed after the President and plans for a modified two-year closure were resurrected.
In an apparent effort to circumvent Judge Cooper’s ruling that the original closure was predetermined, the Kennedy Center’s management presented the board with three options for carrying out renovations.
These included a complete closure, a partial closure which would see some limited programming continue and a series of smaller closures to allow the most urgent repairs to take place while a full event schedule was maintained.
The board ultimately opted for the second plan.
In a statement, Beatty said the vote was clearly intended to bypass Judge Cooper’s ruling, as she threatened another legal challenge.
“This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed,” she said.
“I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument.”
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