Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center after court ruling

Workers have removed Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center in Washington after a federal judge ruled the venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress. The work began around 1.20am local time and was completed in about 30 minutes, with letters taken down from the building's facade after scaffolding and tarps were put in place. The removal came less than six months after the name was added to the performing arts centre.

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The action followed a court-ordered deadline that the Department of Justice said it would miss, asking for a 12-hour extension because thunderstorms could create safety risks for workers. A federal judge in Washington had declined to pause the order hours earlier, and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also rejected the government's request for a pause. Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on 29 May that only Congress could rename the centre, and his order required Trump's name to be removed from the facade, website and other materials.

The dispute centres on a prominent cultural institution that opened in 1971 as a memorial to John F Kennedy. The centre's board, which Trump chairs, voted in December to rename it The Donald J Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Workers began affixing Trump's name to the building the next day, making the reversal a visible sign of the legal challenge now under way. The case has wider significance because it tests how far a presidentially appointed board can go in changing the identity of a federally linked institution. It also highlights the role of the courts in settling disputes over public naming rights and the limits of executive influence over a venue created to honour a former president.

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The issue has become politically sensitive because the centre is both a national cultural landmark and a symbol of institutional memory in Washington. The lawsuit was brought by Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who said the request to extend the deadline was "inexcusable" and part of "a pattern of non-compliance," according to the court filing. Trump, a Republican, has packed the board of trustees with allies since resuming office last year.

That background has added to scrutiny of the board's December vote and the administration's response to the court order. What remains unclear is whether the administration will continue to challenge the ruling as the appeals process continues. The immediate question is whether the name will stay off the building and related materials while the legal case is heard.

The broader issue to watch is whether Congress becomes involved, since the judge's ruling says only lawmakers can authorise a formal renaming.

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