Judge Considers Motion to Remove Trump's Name from Kennedy Center

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is now considering a motion from Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, to remove President Donald Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and block related changes to the venue. Filed on March 25, 2026, the motion argues that the board's decision to rebrand the center violates the federal statute establishing it as a living memorial solely to President John F. Kennedy.

The dispute centers on a unanimous board vote in December 2025 to rename the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Board members, many appointed by Trump, added his name in large letters to the building's facade shortly after the vote. Beatty's legal team, including attorneys Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, contends that the 1958 law authorizing the center's construction designates it exclusively as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The statute further restricts the installation of additional memorials or plaques, with only narrow exceptions that do not apply here, according to the filing.