Overview
- Workers carried out U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper’s order by removing President Trump’s letters from the facade in the early hours of Saturday, June 13.
- Cooper ruled on May 29 that a 1964 federal law gives Congress sole authority to name the John F. Kennedy Center, finding the board’s vote to add Trump’s name unlawful.
- The Kennedy Center has left scaffolding and a large tarp covering the facade while crews evaluate and repair exterior marble, and the center updated web and printed materials to remove Trump’s name.
- The institution and the Justice Department have appealed the ruling to the D.C. Circuit and the board has responded by creating a new Trump‑named endowment, leaving legal, fundraising and governance questions unresolved.
- The dispute has already disrupted programming and staffing—artists canceled performances, staff were fired, and the judge blocked a planned full two‑year closure for renovations and ordered the parties to report plans for continued public access.