The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defended a plan on Thursday to place inscriptions featuring President Donald Trump’s name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. During a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, government attorneys argued that proposed inscriptions acknowledging Trump’s restoration efforts do not constitute a renaming of the facility, which federal law establishes as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy.
The hearing follows a legal challenge by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex-officio member of the center’s board. In late May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked a planned closure of the building and ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the facade, ruling that only Congress has the authority to change the institution's name. Following that order, the lettering of Trump’s name was removed on June 13 and covered with a tarp.
Earlier this month, the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees, which is chaired by Trump and includes several Cabinet members, passed a new resolution. The plan proposes adding the phrase “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” to the building and “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” if a $100 million fundraising goal is met. The resolution also seeks to name the campus grounds the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” and revives a renovation project that would close the building for two years.
For the public and performers, the legal dispute dictates whether the building remains open in the immediate future. The Kennedy Center has pledged to pause actions related to the new resolution until at least Sept. 8. Furthermore, the case tests the limits of executive and board authority over federal memorials, specifically whether a board can add a second president’s name to a site designated by Congress as a memorial to a specific individual.
The financial scale of the dispute includes the $257 million renovation budget and a $100 million private fundraising threshold tied to the proposed "Trump Kennedy Center Fund." Lawyers for Rep. Beatty argued that the marble on the building has already sustained damage due to previous attempts to add new lettering. Judge Cooper did not issue a ruling from the bench on Thursday but questioned whether his court still maintained jurisdiction following a prior appeal by the administration. The board’s voluntary stay on the project is set to expire Sept. 8.