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Name Inscription Delayed
The Kennedy Center agreed to hold off on placing President Donald Trump’s name on the performing arts building amid an ongoing legal battle over the venue, telling a federal court it would not attempt to return the name to the building’s facade before at least Sept. 8.
“would not attempt to return President Donald Trump’s name to the building’s facade before at least Sept. 8”
In a status report filed late Tuesday, the center said it would not move forward with the plans until after Labor Day “at the earliest,” and the board’s proposed inscription would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board who successfully sued the Trump administration over changes to the building, is listed as a plaintiff in the report and sought to have the court block the latest move.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper previously ordered the lettering be removed after ruling in May that the center could not add Trump’s name to the congressionally established memorial to former President Kennedy.
The dispute also includes a separate fight over the center’s planned two-year closure for renovations, with the board voting to close the main building while continuing some programming elsewhere.
Beatty Calls It Defiance
Beatty’s lawyers argued the board is trying to get around Cooper’s earlier ruling by pursuing a new approach, and they asked the court to intervene before Sep. 8.
In court filings described by CNN, Beatty’s lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to decide whether adding Trump’s name back to the building is lawful before September 8, warning, “This Court should not permit defendants to effectuate this latest gambit, in direct contravention of its earlier decision and in naked defiance of the law.”
The Kennedy Center told the court it would not add Trump’s name back until September 8 at the earliest, while the board also voted to rename the grounds the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
Beatty’s filing characterized the board’s actions as “naked defiance” of the judge’s prior decision, and it argued that adding “Restored and Renovated by” or “Endowed by” provides no lawful basis to ignore Cooper’s decision.
The center’s filings also addressed the long-running tarp and scaffolding, with the institution saying the covering was in place to facilitate removal of Trump’s name and is part of a broader system needed for “water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhang.”
Renovations and Ripple Effects
The Kennedy Center’s legal fight is unfolding alongside board decisions about renovations, including a two-year closure and plans to keep some programming elsewhere while the main building is closed.
“Ticket sales for the National Symphony Orchestra fell from 72% of capacity in 2024 to 58% in 2025 and 41% last season”
The National Symphony Orchestra announced it would split its 2026-27 season between six venues in Washington and the capital’s suburbs, with its inaugural concert on September 26 and tickets going on sale August 28.
In the orchestra’s plan, music director Gianandrea Noseda said, “Performing and being somewhat disconnected from the Kennedy Center will probably persuade part of the audience that stayed away from the center to return to our concerts,” and he added that he hoped it would “increase attendance.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that ticket sales for the National Symphony Orchestra fell from 72% of capacity in 2024 to 58% in 2025 and 41% last season, citing The Washington Post, while the orchestra did not confirm the figures.
As the Kennedy Center’s board weighs closure options, NPR reported that the center told the court a Delta Consulting Group analyst concluded a partial shutdown over four years would “lengthen the construction period and increase costs and raise significant safety concerns,” and the analyst recommended proceeding with a full two-year closure.
