AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.One day before a deadline to take the president’s name off its facade, the arts institution appealed a federal judge’s ruling that also temporarily blocked it from closing.Listen · 6:21 min Judge Christopher R.

Cooper ruled that only Congress had the power to alter the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was dedicated to the president in a 1964 law.Credit...Kevin Lamarque/ReutersJune 11, 2026Lawyers for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have escalated a fight to keep President Trump’s name on the marble facade of the arts institution, appealing a federal judge’s order to remove it from the building.The notice of appeal was filed on Thursday night, as a legal deadline loomed for taking Mr.

Trump’s name off the building in Washington. The Kennedy Center also challenged the judge’s decision to temporarily block the president’s plan to close the center for two years of renovations.Finding that the board did not have the power to unilaterally change the name of the arts center, Judge Christopher R.

Cooper of Federal District Court in Washington had ruled that Mr. Trump’s name must be taken down by Friday.As the clock counted down, lawyers for Mr. Trump and the Kennedy Center, where he is chairman, requested a stay from Judge Cooper pending their appeal of his decision.Mr.

Trump’s lawyers argued in the filing that removing the name, only to later replace it after a successful appeal, would mean squandering “time and money.”“Moreover, requiring a name change now, only to potentially revert back to the current name after appeal,” the lawyers wrote, “would be incredibly confusing for the public.”Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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