A Kennedy Center official told a federal judge Saturday that all references to President Donald Trump inside, outside and online have been removed from the Kennedy Center, in compliance with the court\u2019s extended order requiring their removal by noon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Subscribe to read this story ad-free <\/p>\n
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.<\/p>\n
![\"arrow\"](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/arrow-f55fa5.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n
Construction workers began removing Trump\u2019s name from the building\u2019s facade 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.<\/p>\n
Crews removed lettering on the building, added in December, that inserted Trump\u2019s name before \u201cThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several dozen attendees gathered and cheered on the workers who prepared to take the president\u2019s name off of the building.<\/p>\n
A federal judge ruled last month that Trump\u2019s name must be removed<\/a> by June 12, writing that the center\u2019s board<\/a> did not have the authority to unilaterally rename the building.<\/p>\n \u201cCongress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,\u201d U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote on May 29.<\/p>\n Late Friday night, the Justice Department sought a 12-hour delay to illustrate its compliance with the court order, blaming thunderstorms for the delay.<\/p>\n \u201cThe removal work is presently ongoing, and Defendants expect it will conclude in the early hours of the morning of June 13, 2026,\u201d DOJ lawyers wrote.<\/p>\n Trump first raised the prospect of adding his name to the Kennedy Center in a Truth Social post<\/a> last August.<\/p>\n In a last-ditch effort to halt the judge\u2019s order, the Kennedy Center sought to block it late Thursday. The judge denied that request Friday, hours before the deadline for removing Trump\u2019s name.<\/p>\n In a filing to a federal appeals court seeking to block the judge\u2019s order, the center argued for the first time that taking Trump\u2019s name off the building would result in having to return hundreds of millions of dollars that the center has raised for renovations due to a previously unannounced change to the center\u2019s bylaws.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of this money, hundreds of millions of dollars, will have to be immediately returned, or not received by the Center,\u201d the filing said.<\/p>\n The filing said the \u201creason for this clause is that people and companies, who have given, or will be giving, millions of dollars to the Center were only willing to do so with the name \u2018Trump\u2019 on the Building.\u201d<\/p>\n It does not say how, when or where the change was made to the center\u2019s bylaws. The Kennedy Center did not respond to inquiries about when the changes were made and exactly how much money might be at risk.<\/p>\n