John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts staffers have reportedly received a memo asking them to remove all references to President Donald Trump on signage and official communications due to a recent court ruling.
“You must immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,’ or ‘Kennedy Center,’” staff were instructed in a memo obtained by Politico on Thursday, June 4. “Other changes, such as to templates and forms, signage, brochures, and website pages, must be completed no later than Friday, June 12, 2026.”
A Kennedy Center spokesperson subsequently told Us Weekly, “We are complying with the court’s order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump’s leadership.”
A lawsuit was filed by Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio — a member of the Kennedy Center board of trustees through Congress — in December 2025 to block widespread changes that Trump intended to implement to the Center, including renaming the venue as the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
Judge Christopher Cooper subsequently ruled on Friday, May 29, that Trump, 79, and his allies did not have the proper authority to officially change the name of the event space to the “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Per Cooper’s ruling, only Congress has the ability to make such changes to the institution since they dedicated the building to the late JFK in 1964.
“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
As a result of the ruling, the cultural organization officially instructed its employees to delete any references to the “Trump-Kennedy Center” or “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” and revert to using “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “the Kennedy Center” or “the Center” on all official communications.
Another aspect of Trump’s overhaul of the Kennedy Center involved a planned two-year closure beginning in July to undergo extensive renovations.
Judge Cooper temporarily halted those plans because “none of the board members had sufficient information in advance of the March 16 meeting to make a well-considered decision to close the center.” The judge left the door open for renovations to move forward if the board was provided more concrete information. (Trump was appointed chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees in February 2025.)
In its memo to staff, Kennedy Center management acknowledged the uncertainty over whether renovations would move forward this summer.
“While the Court ruled that renovations can proceed at this time, it determined that the Board did not have sufficient information to make an informed decision to shut down the Center when it voted in March,” the memo read. “The Court did not rule that the Center must stay open during the renovations, and did not require that the Center present any particular programming on-site during the renovations. Instead, the Court ruled that the specific Board vote in March was inappropriate, and that any subsequent vote regarding closure must take more information into account. The Center is considering its options and will provide further guidance shortly.”
In the aftermath of the ruling, Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, Roma Daravi, told Us in a statement on Friday that the center is “confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”
“We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges,” Daravi added. “With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”
However, President Trump later threatened to cancel his renovation plans for the Kennedy Center unless he is given full decision-making authority.
“Shockingly, a Judge appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, Christopher Cooper, ruled that The Kennedy Center, which was going to close in early July for large-scale renovations and construction due to years of neglect, decay, and poor maintenance, and which was to be transformed by the Trump Administration into the Finest Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World, is not allowed to close for these renovations,” Trump wrote via Truth Social on May 29. “Which would not be possible to properly do without such a closure.”
Trump complained that the Kennedy Center had “lost, over the years, prior to our getting involved a short while ago, Hundreds of Millions of Dollars — In some cases, including ridiculous construction jobs that were done, over 100 Million Dollars a year.”
The president then threatened to force Congress to take control of any and all renovations of the Kennedy Center moving forward.
“Based on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center, almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country, we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it,” he vowed.
Multiple members of the Kennedy family publicly opposed Trump adding his name to the venue. Maria Shriver — who is the late JFK’s niece — openly celebrated that Trump’s plans for the Kennedy Center were blocked on her uncle’s birthday.
“An appropriate birthday present on my uncle’s birthday today. A federal judge ruled that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board acted unlawfully in renaming the Kennedy Center after him,” Shriver, 70, wrote via Threads on May 29. “The judge held that only Congress can change the Center’s name and blocked the planned two-year closure for now. I know they’ll probably appeal and the story isn’t over, but for today, let’s celebrate a great birthday gift.”
