Kennedy Center Board Seeks Pause of Ruling Ordering Removal of Trump’s Name

President Donald Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center is mounting a last-minute effort to keep his name on the facade of the iconic performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it, Steven Sloan reported for The Associated Press (AP).

The board voted Thursday to seek a stay of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

The formal request was filed late Thursday.

The board’s move marks a shift from a June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel, which said email signatures, letterhead, and other documents must reflect the name “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

“The Trump administration’s 11th-hour gambit after waiting nearly two weeks evinces desperation,” Norm Eisen, a board member at Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement.

“That is what they should be feeling because they don’t have a legal leg to stand on. We will be vigorously contesting this latest ploy as we have throughout the case on behalf of Rep. Beatty and the American people.”

They represent Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board who filed the lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the institution.