Kennedy Center board approves Trump name on facade, renovation plan

The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to add  President Donald Trump's name to the building's facade, according to US Congresswoman Joyce Beatty.

The board also voted to proceed with a two-year closure of the performing arts venue in the US capital, Washington, D.C. , for major renovations.

The decision comes after a federal judge in May ordered Trump's name to be removed from the building , ruling that only Congress can change the institution's name or authorize major alterations.

"This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court's ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed," Beatty, a Democrat who is also an ex-officio board member, said in a statement. "I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument."

The latest vote revives a dispute that has been unfolding since Trump reshaped the center's leadership after returning to office.

Trump became interested in the Kennedy Center's operations after winning the 2024 election. He installed a mostly handpicked board that named him chairman, and his name was added to the building's facade in December.

The move was part of a broader effort to overhaul the institution. At the time, the president also announced a two-year closure of the performing arts venue for renovations that were scheduled to begin in July .

That decision soon faced a legal challenge. In May, Judge Christopher Cooper said, "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."