Background: Workers stand on scaffolding near the signage for the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2026. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca/Sipa USA – Sipa via AP Images). Inset: President Donald Trump leaves a St. Patrick's Day event in the East Room of the White House on March 17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images).
A federal appeals court has rejected a request from President Donald Trump to restore his name to the iconic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined in a three-page order that the Trump administration "failed to demonstrate [an] irreparable harm" that would come from the president's name staying off the building while the appeal plays out. The court added, "Appellants have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal."
Trump has shown a strong interest in the famous cultural center in Washington, D.C. In early 2025, he ousted the center's board of trustees, made himself its chairman, and in December, the new board added his name to the building.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) — a member of the board — filed a lawsuit "to stop the unlawful renaming" of the center. She argued that such an action needed Congress' input and claimed Trump's decisions were "more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic."
On Feb. 1, the president announced that the center would close for two years for a "complete rebuilding."
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on May 29 ruled that the center's board "overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump." Because of the Barack Obama appointee's order, Trump's name was taken off the building.
On June 12, the president filed a motion for a stay pending appeal and "a request for an immediate administrative stay," landing the case in front of the D.C. Circuit. That appeals court was not persuaded by the appellants' arguments, denying the administrative stay that very day.
Their opinion on the request for a stay pending appeal came on Wednesday.
"First, they argue that removal of President Trump's name will inflict irreparable harm in terms of expense and time," the order states, speaking of the appellants. "Since that removal has already occurred, a stay would not avert those harms (even assuming they would qualify as irreparable)."
Furthermore, although Trump and his team claimed financial harm would come to the Kennedy Center if his name is not reinstated, they "failed to support this assertion with any specific facts or evidence," the appellate court wrote, also dismissing an argument they said Trump's team made to them but never offered in district court.
Trump's name will stay off the building, the official website, and any trademarks related to the center. However, the appeals court has not yet ruled on the merits of the case, so Trump's appeal can continue.
Beatty celebrated the appellate court's decision.
"Today's ruling again affirms that this administration's efforts to rename the Kennedy Center were unlawful," she said, per Democracy Defenders Action. "His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people. Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down."
The White House has not publicly commented on the decision.
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