The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington has moved to undo the name change that added President Donald Trump’s name to the institution, following a federal court decision, according to people familiar with the matter. A memo issued by the center’s general counsel directed employees to alter internal and public materials to reflect the facility’s original name.
The memo instructs staff to "immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as 'The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,' or 'Kennedy Center.'" It also sets a deadline of June 12 for external items such as signage, brochures, and websites to be updated, the memo said.
The legal directive comes after a federal judge found that the center cannot be renamed without congressional approval. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the administration to remove physical signage bearing President Trump’s name and to eliminate references to a "Trump Kennedy Center" from official materials within 14 days.
The memo from the Kennedy Center’s general counsel is the first administrative step indicating the institution is taking measures to reverse the name change that was applied last December. That alteration, made by the president, added his name before Kennedy’s on the facade of the white marble building and prompted a lawsuit by Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who serves on the center’s board.
It remains unclear when the Republican president’s name will be physically removed from the building. The court order directed that physical signage bearing the president’s name be taken down, but the timing of that work has not been specified in the materials seen by reporters.
The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, was established as a tribute to the late president. The center’s board voted in December to alter the institution’s name to include President Trump. At that time, President Trump had replaced several board members and named himself a trustee.
The dispute over the name is intertwined with broader plans announced by the administration. President Trump has described a plan to renovate the Kennedy Center as part of a wider effort to reshape Washington’s monumental core. On Thursday, the administration also announced intentions to build a promenade to the Lincoln Memorial, to erect a 250-foot (76-meter) arch, and to construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House.
Last week, following the court ruling, President Trump said he was directing his administration to carry out a "complete transfer" of the Kennedy Center’s operations to Congress in response to the decision. The memo to staff appears to be the institution’s initial compliance step in reaction to the federal ruling and subsequent administrative statements.
How long it will take to implement all physical changes on the center’s exterior or to complete broader operational adjustments remains unknown. The court order and the general counsel’s memo establish immediate administrative actions and short deadlines for certain updates, but concrete timelines for physical removals and any resulting operational shifts have not been provided.