Workers begin removing Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, hours after
a court-ordered deadline
[June 13, 2026]
By STEVEN SLOAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Workers began removing President Donald Trump's name
from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a
court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the
building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue’s
operations.
Scaffolding was erected Friday around a section of the building that
includes Trump’s name, but shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center
asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday
because of thunderstorms that had swept through the Washington area,
causing a delay.
In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal
work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the
morning.”
A few hours later, workers began covering the scaffolding with tarps
before they eventually started taking down Trump's name. They packed up
and left the site around 3:30 a.m., though the tarps remained, leaving
it impossible to determine if all the letters had been removed.
Dozens of people spent hours Friday on the plaza in front of the Kennedy
Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into
chants of “take it down.” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board
member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was
spotted at one point on the plaza.
Earlier Friday afternoon, a judge rejected a request to pause the
court-ordered deadline. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort
that was also rebuffed Friday evening.
After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has
wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office.
Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous
leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him
chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.
In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy
Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the
administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major
renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two
years.
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Workers construct scaffolding below the sign for the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, June 12, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the
renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that
seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.
“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix
up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening
structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are
rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according
to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”
Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name
from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial
ruling.
A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General
Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must
reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts”
or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier
email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark
Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center
without including Trump’s name.
___
Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang
in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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