OAN Staff Jenna Lee
12:17 PM – Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed that President Donald Trump’s name has been removed from the façade of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., following a fierce, down-to-the-wire legal battle.
The removal follows a notice of compliance filed in federal court after the administration exhausted its appeals. In a final push to halt the order, government lawyers argued that changing the venue’s name would cause mass public confusion and hinder fundraising.
“No one else other than President Trump would be in the position of both rebuilding the Building, and raising the money for its operation,” the filing stated, warning that the performing arts center could face “financial and structural collapse” without his branding.
U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper had ruled last month that the venue could not be lawfully renamed without congressional approval, setting a strict deadline of Friday night for the letters to come down.
Just hours before the midnight cutoff, the administration requested a 12-hour extension into Saturday, claiming work had been delayed due to safety concerns from thunderstorms in the area.
While the extension wasn’t formally granted, workers ultimately began the process of dismantling the letters spelling out Trump’s name in the early morning hours of Saturday.
Shielded from public view by a large tarp on the scaffolding, the work was finished just a few hours past the original court-ordered deadline.
The removal ends one of the most unusual chapters in the history of the national cultural center, which was established by Congress in 1964 as a living memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy.
Upon returning to office for a second presidential term, Trump moved quickly to replace the institution’s board with his own selection of members. In December 2025, the reconstituted board voted unanimously to append his name to the front portico.
Despite the high-profile legal setback, Trump is reportedly moving forward with other sweeping plans to reshape the iconic architecture of the nation’s capital.
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