Trustees approve a Trump inscription and rename the grounds in his honor months after a federal judge ordered his name removed from the Washington performing arts center
WASHINGTON — The Kennedy Center’s board voted Thursday to put President Donald Trump’s name back on the building as part of a new inscription, setting up a potential confrontation with a federal judge who previously ruled that the congressionally designated memorial to President John F. Kennedy could not be renamed by the board.
The board approved changing the building’s facade to read: “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump,” according to Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex officio member of the board.
Trustees also voted to designate the physical site as “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” Beatty said.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the decisions. A second source familiar with the meeting confirmed the board’s action.
The vote marks the latest turn in a months-long legal and political fight over Trump’s effort to reshape one of Washington’s most prominent cultural institutions.
The board had previously added Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center’s official name and facade after voting in December 2025 to honor him.
But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the board lacked authority to formally rename the institution without congressional action.
Cooper said the federal statute governing the center made clear that it was established as a memorial to President Kennedy and could not bear another formal name or public memorial based solely on a decision by its board.
Trump’s name was subsequently removed from the building in June.
A federal appeals court later declined the administration’s request to keep the Trump name in place while litigation continued.
Thursday’s vote takes a different approach.
Rather than formally replacing the Kennedy Center’s congressionally established name, the board approved an inscription crediting Trump with the building’s restoration and renovation.
Whether that distinction satisfies the federal court’s ruling could become the next issue in the continuing litigation.
Beatty, who brought the lawsuit challenging the earlier name change and renovation plans, has opposed the board’s actions.
The board also voted Thursday to proceed with closing the Kennedy Center’s main building for two years for extensive renovations, according to Beatty.
The closure proposal has itself been subject to court scrutiny.
Cooper previously blocked an earlier version of the plan after finding that the board had not adequately considered its statutory responsibilities before voting to shut down the venue. The judge nevertheless recognized that the board has broad authority over the center’s operations and could potentially approve a closure through a legally valid process.
The latest renovation plan is expected to cost about $250 million and would involve substantial work throughout the performing arts complex.
The White House defended Trump’s stewardship of the institution.
“Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world,” White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston said in a statement reported by Reuters.
The board is dominated by Trump appointees, and Trump himself serves as its chairman after replacing members of the institution’s previous leadership following his return to office.
Thursday’s decision therefore does not resolve the dispute over Trump’s name.
It creates a new version of it.
The Kennedy Center remains, under federal law, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The question now is whether the board can legally place Trump’s name immediately beneath that designation as recognition for the building’s renovation — after a federal court already ordered his previous nameplate removed.