A judge rejected a request by the board, run by Trump allies, to pause Friday’s deadline to remove all references to him from its operations
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 12:37pm, 13 Jun 2026Updated: 12:43pm, 13 Jun 2026The Kennedy Centre was running out of options on Friday evening to keep President Donald Trump’s name on the facade of the iconic performing arts venue.A judge earlier in the afternoon rejected a request to pause a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the Kennedy Centre’s operations. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed on Friday evening.
Scaffolding was erected around a section of the building that includes Trump’s name but the Kennedy Centre sought a short extension to complete the work. Shortly after midnight, it asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon on Saturday because of storms that had swept through the Washington area, causing a delay. Some of the thunderstorms included lightning.
In the filing, the Kennedy Centre offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning”.
Dozens of people spent hours on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Centre taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down”.
