Kennedy Center Board Moves to Block Ruling on Trump's Name

The Kennedy Center's board isn't ready to take President Trump's name off the building, despite a federal judge's order to do just that by Friday, the Washington Post reports. Trustees voted Thursday to seek an emergency pause of US District Judge Christopher Cooper's ruling, which said the board acted outside its authority when it added Trump to the center's congressionally-mandated name last December, according to two people briefed on the closed-door meeting. Cooper wrote that only Congress can rechristen the arts complex, and also temporarily blocked a planned two-year shutdown for renovations, saying the board hadn't fully weighed the fallout.

As NBC Washington reports, the Center said in a memo to staff in June that Trump's name should be removed from documents including letterhead and email signatures, and Axios notes it had previously indicated it would comply with the ruling—and even removed Trump's name from the website. But by late Thursday, his name still topped the facade and the center's Instagram account. The dispute is the sharpest legal setback yet to Trump's bid to reshape the institution he now chairs after clearing out previous appointees. As for a potential closure of the facility, Cooper left the door open if the board redoes its analysis, and the White House insists the president will stay involved as officials work up a new plan to tackle what they describe as serious building problems.