The Kennedy Center board approved a plan last week to restore Donald J. Trump’s name to the building and rename the grounds President Donald J. Trump Plaza, according to a status report filed Wednesday in the U.S. district court in Washington. The changes would affect the Kennedy Center facade and site, but the board said they will not take effect until Sept. 8 at the earliest.
Trump Plaza plan
The resolution calls for the front inscription to read, "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump." It also says the wording would change again once the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reaches $100 million, adding, "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund."
The same resolution requires the physical site and grounds to be named "President Donald J. Trump Plaza." The board vote gives a formal path to reinstating the name after crews removed it overnight on June 13 and the front portico was covered by a tarp.
Chris Cooper ruling
District Judge Chris Cooper ruled two months earlier that the board acted unlawfully when it put Donald J. Trump’s name on the building last year. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who sued over the overhaul, is identified in the filing as a party to the lawsuit over the Kennedy Center changes.
The Justice Department said the protective covering and scaffolding were erected because of water testing and structural repairs to a roof overhang. Government lawyers also said one portion of the scaffolding was used to remove Donald J. Trump’s name from the building.
Sept. 8 at the Kennedy Center
The board’s decision leaves the naming changes on hold until Sept. 8 at the earliest, while the tarp and scaffolding remain in place. The Justice Department declined to say how long that protective covering will stay up.
The filing also placed the Kennedy Center dispute beside the White House ballroom project, which involves millions of pounds of steel and rebar, miles of conduit and a crew of more than 200 working nearly around the clock on the site of the now-demolished East Room. Will the Kennedy Center board actually implement the naming changes on Sept. 8 or face further court action?
