A federal appeals panel on Wednesday rejected the Kennedy Center board's attempt to restore President Donald Trump's name to the national performing arts institution while litigation continues, preserving a lower court's finding that the name change violated federal law.
The three-judge panel found the board failed to demonstrate "irreparable injury" from keeping Trump's name off the building during the appeal process. The board, which Trump chairs, had claimed fundraising efforts would suffer without the president's name on the facade. The judges dismissed that argument as lacking "specific facts or evidence."
A Memorial Transformed
The dispute began earlier this year when the institution became "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." Trump, who first took office one year ago, replaced the Kennedy Center's board of trustees before being named chairman. His name was added to the building shortly after.
A federal judge later ruled the name change illegal, sparking the current legal battle. Tarps still cover portions of the building's marble facade, a visible reminder of the ongoing fight over a memorial originally dedicated to the 35th president.
Lawmaker Calls for Compliance
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat who filed the lawsuit, celebrated Wednesday's decision. "His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people," she said. She called on the Trump administration to "accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down."
The Kennedy Center didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling or the timeline for removing the tarps.
Public Institution at Stake
The case centers on whether a sitting president can unilaterally rename a federally designated memorial. The Kennedy Center, while privately operated, sits on federal land and receives annual congressional appropriations. Its board includes members appointed by the president, but the institution was established by Congress as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
The board's fundraising argument suggested donors would be less generous without Trump's name attached. The panel's rejection of this claim means the appeal will proceed with the building bearing only Kennedy's name, as it has for decades. The decision reinforces that federal memorials can't be renamed through executive action alone, even by a president who controls the institution's governing board.
Why This Matters:
This ruling protects the integrity of public memorials from unilateral executive overreach. The Kennedy Center was created by Congress as a living memorial to a president who championed the arts and served the nation. When one administration can simply rename federal institutions after itself, it erodes the democratic process that created them and treats public assets as personal property. The court's decision affirms that these spaces belong to all Americans, not whoever currently holds power. For arts organizations nationwide that rely on federal support, the case establishes that public funding comes with public accountability. The fundraising claim's rejection is equally significant: it suggests wealthy donors shouldn't dictate how we honor our national heritage, and that institutions receiving taxpayer dollars must operate under the rule of law, not the preferences of political appointees.