Kennedy Center official tells judge that Trump's name has been removed from its building and website

Source: NBC News

June 13, 2026, 10:18 AM EDT / Updated June 13, 2026, 11:44 AM EDT


A Kennedy Center official on Saturday told a federal judge that all references to President Donald Trump inside, outside and online have been removed from the Kennedy Center, in compliance with the court’s extended order requiring them to do so by noon today.

Construction workers began removing Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center building early Saturday morning, six months after a board handpicked by the president voted to rebrand the iconic performing arts venue by adding his name to it.

Crews removed lettering on the building, added in December, that inserted Trump’s name before “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” — the original signage that had been in place since construction began in 1964. Several dozen attendees gathered and cheered on the workers who prepared to take the president’s name off of the building.

A federal judge ruled last month that Trump’s name must be removed by June 12, writing that the center’s board did not have the authority to unilaterally rename the building. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote on May 29.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/construction-workers-begin-removing-trump-name-kennedy-center-rcna349870