A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday denied the Trump administration's emergency request to block a court-ordered deadline requiring the removal of President Trump's name from the exterior of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The ruling means the name must come down by end of day, barring a further appeal to the full circuit or the Supreme Court.
The order, issued without explanation, leaves in place a deadline set by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who earlier ruled that the renaming of the iconic cultural institution was unlawful. Cooper gave the administration two weeks to comply, a window that expired Friday evening.
Scaffolding had already been erected outside the building as of early Friday, though workers had not yet begun removing Trump's name. The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The appeals panel consisted of Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, both Obama appointees, and Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee. The court's summary denial does not signal how it views the underlying legal merits; the case will proceed on a schedule that calls for written briefs through June 29, with a ruling on the stay likely after that date.
The dispute stems from a board vote late last year to rename the institution as “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Trump's name was subsequently added to signage and branding. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio board member, sued over the change and a planned closure of the center.
Judge Cooper agreed with Beatty that the renaming violated federal law, ordering the administration to reverse course. The government appealed, warning that removing Trump's name “threatens to substantially undermine fundraising and financial viability at the most sensitive point in its history.”
Beatty dismissed the appeal as “frivolous” and a “transparent effort to jam the Court and game the judicial system.” Her lawyers noted that “appellants dragged their feet for nearly two weeks, only to appeal the day before they faced a deadline to comply.”
Both Cooper and the D.C. Circuit have now declined to intervene before the deadline passes. The administration could still ask the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court for an emergency stay. For now, the removal is set to proceed within hours.
The case is the latest flashpoint over Trump's imprint on federal cultural institutions. In a related development, a judge earlier denied the Kennedy Center's own bid to delay the removal, underscoring the legal pressure on the administration.
Separately, the administration has faced court orders in other contexts, such as a federal judge ordering the restoration of removed national park displays, highlighting a pattern of judicial pushback on executive actions.
