Trump’s Name Removed from Kennedy Center After Court Rulings
WASHINGTON — Workers removed President Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the early hours of June 13, 2026, after federal courts rejected last-minute appeals to keep it in place. The removal marks a significant legal and symbolic defeat for Trump, who had seized control of the institution early in his second term and renamed it “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
According to AP News, Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and COO, filed a court statement confirming that “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump” had been removed. The original lettering — “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” — remains covered by tarpaulin as of June 14.
A Legal Battle Over a Cultural Institution
The removal culminated a months-long legal battle that began when U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May 2026 that Trump’s name had been illegally added to the building. In a 94-page opinion, Cooper wrote: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” The ruling also temporarily blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations.
The Kennedy Center’s board mounted two separate appeals to keep Trump’s name on the building — both rejected, first by Judge Cooper on Friday afternoon, June 12, then by a federal appeals court on Friday evening, as The Guardian reported. After severe thunderstorms swept through Washington, the institution sought and received a short extension, with a new deadline of noon Saturday.
Workers erected scaffolding on Friday evening, draped tarpaulin over the structure at 2 a.m. Saturday, and removed the letters beginning at approximately 3 a.m. The entire process took about 30 minutes. A crowd gathered to witness the moment, with some chanting “Shame!” and “Take it down!”
A Symbolic Victory for Critics
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board who filed the lawsuit to remove Trump’s name, celebrated the outcome. “Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people,” Beatty said in a statement. “The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating.”
Leo Bartholomaus, a recent Syracuse University graduate who was walking by the Kennedy Center, told AP News: “My grandmother had a big love of the arts. I’ve been here to see ‘The Lion King.’ I wasn’t a fan of Donald Trump putting his name on it. I thought it was better as the Kennedy Center.”
The Takeover and Its Aftermath
The Kennedy Center, established by Congress in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, had long been viewed as one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington. That changed shortly after Trump returned to office in January 2025, when he ousted the institution’s existing leadership, fired 18 Biden-appointed board members, and installed loyalists who voted to make him board chairman. His name was added to the building in late 2025.
Since the name change, artists canceled performances, ticket sales declined, and the Center substantially reduced staff. Senate Democrats launched an investigation into the Kennedy Center for “cronyism, corruption” in November 2025.
Broader Reshaping of Washington
The Kennedy Center episode is part of a wider pattern of Trump reshaping Washington’s physical landscape. As CNBC noted, Trump demolished the White House East Wing in October 2025 to build a controversial 90,000-square-foot ballroom (a court blocked construction in June 2026; the administration has appealed). He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, and is advancing plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
An Uncertain Future for the Kennedy Center
Questions linger about the institution’s future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump’s name removed also blocked the planned two-year closure for renovations. The Kennedy Center’s calendar includes performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Bluey’s Big Play” in the coming weeks, and comedian Bill Maher is scheduled to receive the Mark Twain Award for American Humor on June 28. But little is scheduled beyond that.
Trump, angered by the court’s order, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns. The institution has also suggested that Trump’s name could return to the building if its appeal succeeds, arguing it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”
What to Watch For
The Kennedy Center’s appeal remains ongoing, and the institution’s long-term viability is uncertain with reduced staff, a blocked renovation plan, and $257 million in Congressionally approved funds that must be spent by 2029. The case has become a flashpoint in the broader debate about executive power over federally chartered institutions and the politicization of cultural spaces in Washington.