Additional Coverage:
The Kennedy Center’s Office of the General Counsel issued a directive on Thursday instructing staff to remove former President Donald Trump’s name from the performing arts venue, following a federal judge’s ruling earlier this week.
An internal email outlined the steps employees must take to comply with the court order, which blocked the renaming of the iconic cultural institution. The court determined that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees exceeded its authority by adding Trump’s name, and mandated that all references to anyone other than John F. Kennedy be removed within 14 days from May 29.
“To comply with this order, you must immediately update email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ or simply ‘Kennedy Center,’” the memo stated.
Additional updates to signage, brochures, website pages, and other materials must be completed by June 12, 2026. Staff were specifically instructed to eliminate any mention of “Trump-Kennedy Center” or “The Donald J.
Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” reverting instead to the original name.
The court did not mandate that the Center remain open during ongoing renovations nor prescribe any specific programming. Rather, it ruled that the March board vote to rename the venue was improper and that any future decisions regarding the Center’s operations must be made with fuller consideration.
In response to the ruling, former President Trump issued a vehement statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, criticizing the decision and defending his involvement with the Center. He claimed the institution had been struggling financially for years before his intervention and expressed frustration that the judge and political opponents would rather see it fail than allow him to lead its revival.
Trump also suggested plans to work with Congress to transfer control of the Center back to lawmakers, emphasizing his belief that he had made significant improvements to the institution and to Washington, D.C., overall.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s ruling reaffirmed that renaming the Kennedy Center requires congressional approval, effectively halting the recent addition of Trump’s name. The Kennedy Center now faces a deadline to remove all such references by mid-2026 as it considers its next steps.