Kennedy Center Board Files Appeal Against Court Order To Remove Trump’s Name

BreakingBusinessKennedy Center Board Files Appeal Against Court Order To Remove Trump’s NameBySiladitya Ray,Forbes Staff. Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter.Follow AuthorJun 12, 2026, 04:47am EDTToplineThe Kennedy Center’s board of trustees—who were handpicked by President Donald Trump—late on Thursday filed a legal challenge against a federal judge’s ruling ordering the removal of Trump’s name from the face of the building and halting their plan to close down the center for planned renovations.The Kennedy Center board voted to file an emergency appeal seeking to block the order requiring the removal of Trump's name from the performing arts center.Getty ImagesKey FactsIn a federal court filing, the board of trustees said it had voted on Thursday to appeal the earlier ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and requested a stay of the judge’s order pending the appellate court's consideration of the matter.The board’s decision to appeal the ruling is a reversal of its earlier efforts to comply with it, including removing Trump’s name from all literature, signage and website.The earlier ruling by Federal Judge Christopher Cooper had set Friday as the deadline for removing Trump’s name from the large signage on the facade of the building.“Hands off the Arts”, an activist group that has protested the addition of Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, is running a livestream of a camera pointed at the building’s front signage, hoping to capture the removal process.The camera is mounted on a balcony of the Watergate complex and at the time of publishing, the altered sign, which reads “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center,” remains in place. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.element...