Beatty Sues to Remove Trump Name from Kennedy Center

Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and ex officio member of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday in Washington, D.C., seeking to remove President Donald Trump's name from the venue and declare a recent board vote to rename it invalid.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names as defendants Trump, who serves as board chairman; center President Richard Grenell; and other trustees, including several of Trump's appointees. Beatty argues that the center's name, established by a 1964 act of Congress as a memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy, can only be changed through legislative action. The complaint requests a court order to restore the original name, nullify the board's decision, and prohibit further alterations, including the removal of new signage and references on the center's website and social media.

The controversy stems from a board meeting held last Thursday, during which trustees voted to add Trump's name, resulting in updated exterior signage on Friday that now reads "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."...