Kennedy Center appeals court order to remove Trump's name from building

The Board of the Kennedy Center has appealed a decision taken by a federal court, which ordered the removal of U.S. President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center building and blocked the administration from shutting it down for two years for renovation work. The notice of appeal was filed on Thursday night, as per the New York Times. The legal deadline for the Board to take down Trump's name from the building was right around the corner as the appeal was filed.

The initial judgment, which was delivered by Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the Federal District Court in Washington, had come after Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat of Ohio and an ex officio member of the board, had filed a lawsuit against the name change. Now, lawyers for the Kennedy Center are asking Judge Cooper for a stay on his order, as removing the name only to change it again after a successful appeal would cost time and resources.

"Moreover, requiring a name change now, only to potentially revert back to the current name after appeal, would be incredibly confusing for the public," they argued. Lawyers representing Rep. Beatty, however, called the appeal an "eleventh-hour" gambit. If Judge Cooper doesn't stay his order, Kennedy Center lawyers can appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for a stay.

President Trump was not happy when Judge Cooper ordered the removal of his name and put a wrench in his plan to renovate the building. Taking to Truth Social, he claimed that the renovation would have saved the iconic performative arts venue from being in "a potential state of collapse, rusted, rotted, and rat and bug-infested." He also brought up the fact that the judge was appointed by former President Barack Obama.

That is not all. The President accused Judge Cooper's wife of being an "anti-Trump Hater" and called him the same as well, before claiming that the U.S. legal system, along with several other systems, was rigged. "Our Court System is RIGGED, no different than our Political System is RIGGED, and the people of our Country know it," he wrote.

The decision to appeal the court order has come under criticism from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who claimed that Trump had destroyed everything that President John F. Kennedy had believed in. "Mr. President, I'm confused… I thought you were washing your hands with the Kennedy Center and "giving it back" to Congress (whatever the hell that means)?" she wrote on X.

As far as the Kennedy Center is concerned, this is not the only legal trouble it is facing. According to The Hill, the Washington National Opera (WNO) filed a lawsuit on Thursday that accused the Kennedy Center of failing to return more than $17 million in donations made to the organization after its split from the performing arts venue earlier this year. "The funds held by the Kennedy Center represent years of gifts and contributions made by loyal WNO donors who specifically directed their support to benefit WNO and its mission," the opera said in the court filing.