Appeals Court Blocks Stay, Trump Name Off Kennedy Center

A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump's name will not be restored to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, upholding a lower court's decision that the renaming was unlawful. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied an emergency request on July 8 from the Kennedy Center's board to stay the removal order while it appeals the case.

The legal dispute began in December 2025 when the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, appointed by Trump, voted unanimously to rename the institution "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." The board argued the move was part of an effort to revitalize the financially struggling center. However, Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, filed a lawsuit challenging the action, arguing it violated federal law.

On May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in Beatty's favor, ordering the immediate removal of Trump's name from the building's facade, all other physical signage, and the center's official website. The judge cited a 1964 federal law that established the institution's name as "The John F. Kennedy Center for...