Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed an emergency motion late Thursday evening asking a federal judge to stop the trustees of the Kennedy Center from putting President Trump's name back on the front of the arts complex. She also asked the judge to stop the trustees' plan to rename the physical site of the center the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."
If the board's plan moves forward in full, Trump's name would appear on the entryway sign twice, and would appear on a third location on the grounds.
"It's deja vu all over again," Beatty's lawyers wrote to Judge Christopher Cooper in their argument, saying that only Congress can change the name of the center, which by Congressional mandate is a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. "Now, in a new and breathtaking act of defiance of Congress and of this Court, Defendants have voted to return President Trump's name to the Kennedy Center's facade. This time, Trump's name will appear on the building's front portico not once, but twice."
NPR requested comment from the Kennedy Center on Thursday night, but did not receive a reply.
The signage proposed by the center's board, most of whose members were appointed by the president, would eventually read: "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump, Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund." The last line would be added if the fund reaches $100 million in donations. Additionally, the board is seeking to rename the physical grounds of the arts center "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."
In May, Judge Cooper ruled that the board's previous attempt to rename the arts institution as the Trump-Kennedy Center was unlawful, writing: "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. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it."
The board approved its newest plans for the center in a meeting on Aug. 13. The Kennedy Center said in previous legal filings that it would not try to add Trump's name back on the building before Sept. 8. In this latest filing, Beatty's team called this September date an "arbitrary deadline," and urged the court to take immediate action, writing: "They have created an unnecessarily fire drill … there is no need for this manufactured emergency."
Beatty is an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board. She filed her lawsuit against the board and Trump as the organization's chairman last December, challenging the renaming of the institution.
In a statement emailed to NPR Thursday night, Beatty said: "The board's repeated efforts to break the law are a breathtaking act of defiance, but I will continue to stand up against all unlawful acts—enough is enough. The Kennedy Center is a sacred space that belongs to the American people. At every turn, Trump's handpicked Board has flouted court orders and attempted to circumvent the law and the rulings of the judiciary."
This story was edited by Meghan Collins Sullivan. Additional reporting by Chloe Veltman.
Copyright 2026 NPR
