Kennedy Center board votes to restore Trump's name on building

The Kennedy Center's board of trustees voted Thursday to add President Trump's name to the facade of the performing arts center, more than two months after a judge ordered its removal , according to a House Democrat who sits on the center's board.

The board — which Mr. Trump filled with his allies — chose to add the phrase "Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump" to the end of the center's formal name, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio and her lawyers said in a statement. Beatty said the board also voted to close the center for two years.

The vote marks a second attempt to put the president's name on the outside of the building, after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that a decision to rename the center after both Kennedy and Mr. Trump violated the federal law that created the organization. Cooper also blocked the center from moving forward with a plan to close until 2028 for renovations, though the cultural institution had said it was still considering a partial or full closure.

Cooper issued his order in response to a lawsuit from Beatty. On Thursday, the congresswoman called the latest move "a transparent effort to circumvent the Court's ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed."

"Today's vote is more of the same, and a show of blatant disrespect to the courts," two of Beatty's attorneys, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, wrote in the statement. "The court already ruled against the board when it bowed to Trump's demands. Now, the defendants must answer for their actions—again—in court."

White House spokesperson Liz Huston said: "Under President Trump's bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world."

Since returning to office last year, the president has sought to put his stamp on the Kennedy Center, replacing board members with longtime supporters who elected him chair of the organization . The changes to the center have drawn backlash from performers and congressional Democrats , leading some artists to cancel their appearances.

Then, late last year, the board voted to rename the organization as "The John F. Kennedy and The Donald J. Trump Memorial Center for the Performing Arts," which the center framed as a way of recognizing Mr. Trump's efforts to revamp the center. The president's name was then placed above Kennedy's name on the building's stone facade.

The board also voted in March to shut down for two years, arguing the building was in need of sweeping renovations.

Beatty sued over the changes, arguing the board doesn't have the authority to temporarily shutter the Kennedy Center or change its name without permission from Congress.