Scaffolding and tarps cover the building name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, June 15, 2026.
Al Drago | Washington Post | Getty Images
A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restore the name to the Kennedy Center, challenging a lower court’s order that stripped his name from a Washington performing arts landmark in June.
In a motion to block the lower court’s order, the three-judge panel said Trump and the Kennedy Center board failed to show that his name would be “irreparably harmed” if it were not restored.
A panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals said in its order that “a stay would not avert those harms (even assuming they are irreparable) because those exclusions have already taken place.”
The committee also said Trump and the board failed to provide “concrete facts and evidence” that the center’s fundraising efforts would be harmed if Trump’s name was not included.
The justices also rejected Mr. Trump and his board’s argument that “if the name ‘Trump’ is not returned to the Kennedy Center façade, the new organization, the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, will be unable to raise funds and must return all monies raised or donated.”
“Appellants never raised any such factual argument in the district court and have offered no explanation for their failure to do so,” the commission said. “Such an after-the-fact argument cannot prove an abuse of discretion by the district court.”
The decision means Trump’s name will remain removed from the Kennedy Center until his appeal of the removal order to a federal district court judge in Washington takes effect. The same appeals court will hear Trump’s appeal of a May 29 order to remove his name from the center.
CNBC has reached out to the Justice Department, which is representing Trump and the board in their appeal, for comment.
One of the appellate panel judges, Gregory Katsas, was appointed by President Trump. The remaining two, Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, were appointed by former President Barack Obama.
The same committee on June 12 had denied Trump’s request for an administrative moratorium to prevent his name from being removed from the Kennedy Center facade that night to comply with District Court Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 order.
“Congress named the Kennedy Center, and only Congress can change that name,” Cooper said, noting that Congress has not authorized such a change.
“The Kennedy Center’s statutes make clear that the center is named for President (John) Kennedy and cannot bear any other official name or public monument based on the board’s unilateral decision,” Cooper wrote.
The name on the center’s facade has been hidden behind a tarp since Trump’s name was removed following a judge’s order.
The board added Trump’s name to the center in December, 10 months after Trump removed several directors from the board and appointed himself to the center. He is also the Chairman of the Board.
Shortly after, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, sued Trump to remove his name. Beatty is an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Directors.
“Today’s decision reaffirms that the current administration’s efforts to rename the Kennedy Center are illegal,” Beatty said in a statement about Wednesday’s decision by the appeals court.
“His name no longer desecrates this sacred monument that belongs to the American people,” the congressman said. “It’s time for the Trump administration to embrace this, comply with the law, and remove the tarps.”
