The president’s appeal comes after a judge ordered that Trump’s name illegally added to an iconic building in Washington, D.C., be removed.
Federal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center
A federal judge has ruled that the rebranding was illegal and ordered President Donald Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Center.
The Trump administration is moving to keep the president’s name atop the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center after a judge ordered staff to remove the center by June 12.
Lawyers for President Donald Trump filed a notice of appeal on June 11, seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 order to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center property within 14 days. A judge ruled that the president’s name was illegally added to the center.
The move to appeal was at the direction of the Kennedy Center Board of Directors, The New York Times and The Associated Press reported, citing people familiar with the board’s actions.
Cooper also ordered the removal of other signs bearing Trump’s name and ordered that the president’s name be removed from all official materials.
Trump’s move to appeal Cooper’s order comes a day later than the judge’s deadline to remove Cooper’s name from the venue. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.
Crowds gathered at the building on the banks of the Potomac River in hopes of seeing Trump’s name removed from its facade following the Cooper ruling.
The judge’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors.
Beatty objected to Trump’s name being added to the iconic Washington, D.C., building after the center’s board of directors voted in December to rename the Kennedy Center the Trump Kennedy Center. Less than 24 hours after the action, a new sign was installed on the outside of the building reading “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Performing Arts Center.”
Cooper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, which is made up mostly of Trump supporters, is violating a 1964 federal law that established the center to honor the 35th president, which makes clear that “the Kennedy Center must be named for and is intended to honor only President Kennedy.”
