The Trump-appointed board of the Kennedy Center voted Thursday to seek a stay of a federal judge’s order requiring removal of the president’s name from the performing arts venue, according to a person familiar with the move.
The formal stay request is expected to be filed Friday, the person said.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on May 29 that only Congress has authority to change the Kennedy Center’s name. He ordered references to Trump removed from the facility by June 12 and blocked the administration’s plan to close the center for a two-year renovation that had been scheduled to begin in July.
The board’s vote marks a shift from an earlier posture of compliance. On June 4, the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel issued a memo directing staff to remove Trump’s name from email signatures, letterhead and other documents. The center’s website has since dropped the president’s name, and a recent email to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the “Kennedy Center” without including Trump’s name.
Trump’s influence over the center expanded rapidly after he returned to office. Within a month of his second term’s start, he ousted the venue’s previous leadership and installed a hand-picked board of trustees that named him chairman. He brought in Ric Grenell as president, a position Grenell held until March when Matt Floca assumed it.
The board renamed the facility the “Trump Kennedy Center,” a change scholars and lawmakers said must be initiated by Congress, and physically added the president’s name to the building’s facade. Programming shifted toward Trump-friendly events, including the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania.”
The changes prompted a swift backlash from the arts community. Actor Issa Rae, musician Bela Fleck and author Louise Penny were among the numerous artists who withdrew from appearances. Consultants such as musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned. Earlier this month, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Jean Davidson, left to head the Los Angeles-based Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to voting on the stay Thursday, the board approved a resolution recognizing Trump’s “commitment to uphold this cherished American institution,” according to a person familiar with the meeting.
The board’s effort to keep Trump’s name on the building faces an uphill legal battle. Cooper’s ruling squarely held that the name change was unauthorized by Congress. If the stay is denied, the center must remove Trump’s name by the end of Friday.