The Kennedy Center board voted Thursday to again add President Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, two anonymous sources told Axios.
Why it matters: The move challenges a federal judge’s ruling back in May that only Congress could change the name of the performing arts venue, and that Trump’s name must be removed. That process was completed in June.
- U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded that the board had “overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming” the center after the president.
- The administration has appealed the ruling.
Zoom in: Thursday’s vote won’t make Trump’s name part of the complex. Instead, an inscription will go below the Kennedy Center sign that reads “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” and the physical site will be renamed “the President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
- The decision is likely meant to circumvent both the judge’s ruling and a federal law that oversees the Kennedy Center, which reads in part, “no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas.”
- “This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed. I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument,” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said in a statement.
- Beatty sits on the board as an ex officio member and previously sued the administration to halt the addition of Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center.
Zoom out: The board also voted Thursday to move forward with a two-year closure of the center’s main venue for renovations, despite Cooper temporarily blocking plans to shut it down.
- “Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Axios.
- Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Go deeper: Scoop: Take a look at Trump’s Kennedy Center renovation plans
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional context throughout.
Cuneyt Dil contributed reporting.
