Kennedy Center Removes Trump's Name From Documents and Signage After Court Ruling

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A staff memo set a June 12 deadline for changing signage after a federal judge ruled the renaming was unlawful.

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The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has instructed its employees to begin scrubbing President Trump's name from the institution's official materials, according to an internal memo from the general counsel's office reported by The New York Times . The directive landed only days after a federal judge found that the board had acted unlawfully when it voted to attach the president's name to the Washington building.

Staff were told to make the changes to forms and other documents right away, with the memo laying out a detailed list of what needed updating. That list reportedly covered social media accounts, email signatures and voicemail greetings. Indoor and outdoor signage carrying the prohibited name, including parking signs branded "Trump Kennedy Center," was given a firm deadline of June 12.

The memo instructed employees to revert all references back to " The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts " or, in shorter form, simply "Kennedy Center." Leaders at the institution signaled last week that they intended to challenge the ruling, though no appeal had been filed as of Thursday.

The renaming traced back to December, when a board filled with the president's allies voted to honor him. His name went up on the building's marble facade less than a day after that vote. The reversal came when Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the Federal District Court in Washington ruled that the authority to rename the center, dedicated to Kennedy in 1964 following his assassination, rests solely with Congress. He gave the institution two weeks to take the name down from both the building and its official paperwork.

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Following the decision of Judge Christopher R. Cooper to remove President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, Trump has released a statement transferring responsibility of the Kennedy Center back to Congress.

A federal judge in Washington has ordered that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts must remove President Trump’s name from the building and all official branding.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is condemning management of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, alleging the  Kennedy Center is violating its union contract.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Kennedy-Center-Orders-Staff-to-Strip-Trumps-Name-from-Documents-and-Signage-20260604)._