Judge Asked To Block Kennedy Center From Inscribing Trump’s Name

Topline Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, the plaintiff in the federal court case challenging the Kennedy Center’s attempt to name the venue after President Donald Trump, filed an emergency motion asking a court to intervene and block the center from inscribing Trump’s name on the building, alleging it “unquestionably violates” the law.

Beatty filed a motion late Thursday seeking an emergency stay and permanent injunctive relief from the court, which would block the Kennedy Center from inscribing Trump’s name on the building’s front portico as planned.

Though the Kennedy Center removed Trump’s name from the building in June, the center’s board voted last week to add inscriptions that read: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” and, if the Trump Kennedy Center Fund raises $100 million, another that reads, “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

Beatty called the Kennedy Center’s intent to inscribe Trump’s name on the building a “breathtaking act of defiance of Congress and of this Court,” citing the court’s May ruling that ordered the center to remove Trump’s name from the front of the building because it violated the law that designates the ability to name the venue to Congress.

Beatty’s filing cites judge Christopher R. Cooper’s May ruling, which says no other individual aside from former President John F. Kennedy can be “memorialized on the front portico of the building,” arguing the inscription of Trump’s name would amount to a memorial.

The inscription of Trump’s name could also potentially damage the Kennedy Center building, Beatty argues in her filing.

“This latest move is a transparent effort to rename the Center in President Trump’s honor, and at a minimum constitutes an unlawful attempt to memorialize President Trump by returning his name to the portico and grounds where this Court held it does not belong,” Beatty’s filing says.

Last week, the Kennedy Center held a board meeting to vote on plans for closure for renovations, which were previously blocked by the court. It voted to close almost completely for two years, and it also voted on a proposal to add an inscription bearing Trump’s name to the front portico. The resolution, which the Kennedy Center submitted to the court earlier this week, says an inscription that reads, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” will be added below where the sign says, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The center’s resolution says the inscription is meant to honor “the President’s contributions, current and future, with an inscribed recognition on the building,” noting his “unique stature as both an unparalleled fundraiser and world-class developer.” Should the Trump Kennedy Center Fund raise $100 million, a second inscription will be added below the other Trump inscription that would read, “Endowed by The Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” The resolution also says the physical grounds the Kennedy Center sits on will be named “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” The Kennedy Center said in a court filing earlier this week it will not make these inscriptions or name changes until Sept. 8, allowing time for Beatty to challenge the move in court.

The Kennedy Center must file a response to Beatty’s motion by Monday, according to a court order. Cooper said he would schedule a hearing on the motion if necessary.

Beatty’s filing also criticizes the tarps that have covered the venue’s front portico for more than two months. She said the tarps, which almost completely block Kennedy’s name and obscure where Trump’s name once was, still stand in “defiance of the judicial process.” “To this day, Defendants maintain a tarp over the Center’s façade, frustrating this Court’s order and obscuring President Kennedy’s name on the portico of the institution that is meant to memorialize him,” Beatty’s filing says. The tarps have stood since June 13 and were erected shortly before workers removed Trump’s name from the venue to comply with a court order, meaning no one has been able to see for themselves that Trump’s name is now gone. In a filing earlier this week, the Kennedy Center said the tarps are necessary for "ongoing construction,” but did not offer any timeline for their removal.

Cooper ruled in May the Kennedy Center could not add Trump to the venue’s name, saying the center’s board circumvented Congress, which has the power to name the institution. In his ruling, he said federal law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.” In that ruling, Cooper also blocked the center's plans to close for renovations, saying the decision was made based on a “one-sided presentation of information” without properly considering its “full range of its statutory obligations.” Trump has embarked on a takeover of the Kennedy Center since early in his second term, attacking it over allegedly “woke” programming and demanding renovations, calling the venue “tired, broken, and dilapidated.”

Kennedy Center Board Votes To Inscribe Trump’s Name—Despite Court Ruling (Forbes)

Kennedy Center Claims Tarps Are Necessary For ‘Ongoing Construction’—But Offers No Timeline For Removal (Forbes)