Kennedy Center misses deadline to remove Trump’s name, asks for more time

The Kennedy Center missed a court-ordered deadline of June 12, 2026, to remove former President Trump's name from its facade, citing thunderstorms as the primary reason for the delay. A federal judge had previously ruled in late May that the board's decision to rename the institution "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" was illegal, asserting that only Congress possessed the authority for such a change. Despite earlier internal directives to comply by removing the name from digital platforms, the center's board made a last-minute attempt to appeal the ruling, which was ultimately rejected by multiple courts.

Consequently, while scaffolding was erected and workers began the process, the physical removal of the letters from the building's exterior was not completed by the midnight deadline on Friday. The Justice Department, representing the Trump administration, informed the judge that the work would conclude in the early hours of Saturday, June 13, and requested an extension until noon that day to file formal certification of compliance. By Saturday morning, news outlets reported that Trump's name had officially been taken down from the Kennedy Center.