Judge Says Kennedy Center Has to Drop Trump's Name

Workers were setting up scaffolding Friday as a federal judge cleared the way for President Trump's name to come off the Kennedy Center. US District Judge Christopher Cooper rejected the Washington, DC, arts venue's last-minute attempt to pause his earlier order, finding its lawyers hadn't shown they were likely to win on appeal or face "irreparable harm" from the removal, the Washington Post reports. The Justice Department lawyers trying to keep Trump's name on the building could still appeal Cooper's decision, though the court's deadline is Friday.

The decision marks the sharpest reversal yet to Trump's 15-month bid to remake the institution, which Congress established in 1964 as a "living memorial" to John F. Kennedy. Trump allies on the board had voted in December to add his name, prompting immediate backlash and a lawsuit from Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty. Cooper's May ruling was direct: Congress named the center, he wrote, and only Congress can change it. Trump's name has come off the Kennedy Center's website, in keeping with Cooper's earlier ruling.