Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center after losing court fight

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been restored to its proper name.

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President Donald Trump’s name was officially cleared from the marble facade of the storied cultural institution on Saturday, the Justice Department said, after last-minute attempts by the Trump administration to delay a federal judge’s ruling that the name cannot be changed.

Workers removed the lettering of Trump’s name after stormy weather in Washington late Friday delayed their legally mandated job. A large tarp was left hanging overnight covering the scaffolding and obscuring the view of which name — or names — remained.

No trace of the current president’s name remained, in spite of his fight to the end.  

Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend Friday’s legal deadline to remove Trump’s name until noon on Saturday because of the storms. The deadline extension was granted Saturday morning, buying the organization a few more hours to complete the erasure.

The removal of Trump’s name from the building marked a stinging defeat for the president a day before his 80th birthday. After being sworn in last year, Trump swiftly took over the institution, installing loyalists on the center’s board, upending its programming to align with his political preferences, slapping his name on the building, its website and merchandise. He also pushed for a renovation that would have shut the center down for two years.

The changes drew intense criticism, including from members of the Kennedy family. A slew of artists canceled their performances at the center and attendance for the National Symphony Orchestra dropped.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member, sued to have Trump’s name removed from the center. On May 29, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center board of trustees must change its name back by Friday, June 12.