Trump loses appeal to put his name back on the Kennedy Center

A federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed President Donald Trump's bid to restore his name to the Kennedy Center. The President challenged a lower court's order that stripped his name from the Washington performing arts landmark in June; his name was removed from the center's facade and signage last month. The recent ruling said Trump had no grounds to justify putting his name on the historic building, and the lower court's order to remove it will remain in effect. 

The decision ​by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court ​of Appeals for the District of Columbia ⁠Circuit denied the administration's request to pause ​the lower court order in a lawsuit brought by ​Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board member. The sitting president's name was removed last month. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the removal and blocked Trump's plans to close the center for renovations.

Following the order, Trump appealed the decision, claiming that removing Trump's name would hurt fundraising ⁠and ​worsen the center's finances. The panel dismissed the notion, saying Trump and the Kennedy Center's board, in their motion to stay the lower court's order, failed to show they would be "irreparably injured" without his name being restored. In its order, the court said Trump and the board failed to provide any "specific facts and evidence" to prove that the center's fundraising efforts would be hampered if the president's name were removed.

The ruling said the appellants never raised that "factual contention in district court, and they have given no explanation for failing to do so." Thus, such a "post hoc argument" can't demonstrate that any abuse of discretion was committed by the district court. The decision means that Trump's name will remain off the Kennedy Center. This marks another setback for the center's board of trustees, of which Trump is chairman. Trump launched his bid last year to name the center "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." The conspicuous addition resulted in a legal battle against another attempt in Trump's broader push to imprint his legacy on the nation's capital in his final term, as per CNBC.

The opponents of the bid celebrated the decision with Beatty saying, "Today's ​ruling again ​affirms that ⁠this administration's efforts to rename the Kennedy Center were unlawful." She added that the ruling was crucial as it means Trump's name will no longer "desecrate ​this sacred ⁠memorial, which belongs to the American people."