Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center after judge’s ruling

WASHINGTON: Workers removed US President Donald Trump’s name from the exterior of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday after a federal judge ruled that the renaming was illegal, according to the venue.

In a legal filing, Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca said the institution had removed all physical signs on the building and its grounds bearing Trump’s name. Around midday in Washington, the exterior sign remained covered with a white tarp while the work continued. Earlier in the day, loud sounds could be heard from beneath the cover as passersby stopped to watch.

The removal followed a court setback for the center’s board, which had sought at the last minute to delay compliance with the order. On Friday night, crowds gathered outside the venue as workers put up scaffolding to take down the signage, while others watched through a livestream.

Floca said in a statement that the work had been delayed by thunderstorms that raised safety concerns for workers and was expected to finish in the early hours of the morning.

Judge rejects bid to delay removal

US District Judge Christopher Cooper had ordered last month that Trump’s name be removed from the Washington arts complex by Friday. In his May 29 ruling, Cooper said the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had been unlawfully renamed after Trump and that only Congress has the authority to change its name.

He gave the administration 14 days to take Trump’s name off the marble facade and from materials linked to the venue. Earlier this week, the Kennedy Center had already removed Trump’s name from its website.

On Friday, Cooper rejected an emergency appeal by the center’s board seeking a stay of his order. The venue then asked for a 12-hour extension to remove the signage, but the judge also refused that request.

In his ruling, Cooper said the public interest "is rarely served by the ‘perpetuation’ of ‘unlawful’ governmental action."

Broader dispute over the venue

Cooper has also temporarily blocked Trump’s directive to shut the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which had been due to begin in July.

Trump responded angrily and said he was relinquishing control of the venue, which he had taken over at the start of his second term last year by appointing himself chairman.

The center’s governing board, which had been filled with Trump loyalists, voted in December to rename the venue the Trump Kennedy Center. Trump’s full name was then placed in large capital letters above Kennedy’s name on the facade.

A number of artists canceled planned performances after the move. The now-defunct US Institute of Peace was renamed after Trump, while large banners displaying his face were put up outside the Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture. The Trump administration is also seeking to place his image on a $250 bill for the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence from Britain.