The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts scrubbed all references to President Trump from its official website and YouTube channel on Monday, complying with a federal court order that requires the venue to remove the president’s name from all official communications and signage by June 12.
Trump’s name was also cut from formal invitations for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. It’s still visible on the organization’s Instagram, Facebook, and X accounts, which fall outside the current court order’s scope.
The move follows a 94-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the D.C. District Court, who found that the Kennedy Center board violated federal law when it voted to rename the center and attach Trump’s name to the building’s facade.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote.
The lawsuit was brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member who sued to block the administration from renaming the venue. Congress established the center in 1971 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. No other president’s name has been added to the facility.
Cooper ruled that the board’s renaming vote and its decision to install Trump’s name on the facade violated Congress’s “unequivocal mandate.”
“Congress likewise took pains to ensure that no other memorial-like dedication would grace the Center’s public spaces,” he wrote in the ruling.
The Kennedy Center said it’s complying while reviewing its legal options. “We are complying with the court’s order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump’s leadership,” spokeswoman Roma Daravi said.
Cooper’s ruling isn’t the first court action to constrain the Kennedy Center’s collaboration with the Trump administration. An earlier decision blocked the center from shutting down for a planned two-year renovation the board had approved. That closure would have allowed for an extensive facility overhaul.
Together, the two rulings have effectively frozen the Kennedy Center’s partnership with the administration pending further litigation. It’s not clear whether the administration plans to appeal the naming decision.
Trump hasn’t publicly commented on Monday’s compliance. He has criticized federal courts in recent weeks over rulings that have blocked or restricted administration actions across a range of policy areas.
