The Kennedy Center’s legal counsel on Thursday directed staff to remove all references to President Donald Trump from the institution by June 12, according to a memo obtained by United Press International. The order covered signs, brochures, websites, furniture, email signatures and letterhead, and instructed employees to make the changes immediately.
The directive followed a ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who found that the Kennedy Center’s board had exceeded its legal authority when it voted to add Trump’s name to the center. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper said in his decision.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 23 against Trump and others alleging that the name change was illegal. Trump has said the naming was a surprise, but the name was added to the center’s sign the next day. Justice Department lawyers representing Trump later said the speed of the change indicated it had been “prepared and/or purchased prior to the Board’s vote the day before,” The Washington Post reported.
Thursday’s memo also said officials were “considering their options and will provide further guidance shortly” on whether the center will close after July 5, as previously planned. The center is scheduled for a two-year closure for a $257 million renovation.
In his ruling, Cooper said the renovations are “sorely needed,” and his decision does not block the board from closing the center “should it come to this decision anew after independently balancing its multiple obligations to the Center in a prudent fashion,” CBS News reported. Cooper wrote that his opinion “does not purport to dictate how the Center should be run, nor does it prescribe any particular plan for the institution — construction, closure or otherwise — moving forward. It simply holds the Kennedy Center Board to certain minimum requirements imposed by law. Beyond that, the Court will let the parties play on.”