A three-judge panel on Wednesday denied the Kennedy Center board’s request to restore Donald Trump’s name to the building during the Trump Kennedy Center signage dispute. The disputed name stays off the facade while the appeal continues, and tarps still cover that section of marble.
The judges said the board had “failed to show how they will be irreparably injured” if the name remained off the building. They also said the board had not shown “specific facts or evidence” to support its fundraising claim.
Joyce Beatty on Wednesday
Joyce Beatty, who filed the lawsuit, said after the ruling: “His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people,” and, “Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down.” Her statement tracked the practical result of the ruling: the building keeps its current look while the appeal moves ahead.
Trump and The Kennedy Center
When Trump first took office in 2025, he replaced the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees. The board then named Trump chairman, and his name was quickly added to the building, which became known earlier this year as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
A federal judge later ruled that the name change was illegal and rescinded it. The Wednesday order leaves that earlier ruling in place for now, so the board cannot use the appeal to put the name back on the building while the case is still moving through the United States Court of Appeals.
Washington and Ohio
The dispute centers on the building’s facade in Washington, where the tarps on scaffolding still hide the area where the name was removed. The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
For now, the board’s appeal continues under the same limits the judges left in place. The full appeal will determine whether the name change can survive, but the building remains without Trump’s name while that fight goes on.
