A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Kennedy Center's latest attempt to put President Trump's name on the performing arts center violated his earlier order blocking its renaming . The big picture: The order came just before the Kennedy Center's board, now composed of Trump loyalists, is set to weigh shutting down the building for renovations that members argue must include Trump being "appropriately recognized" on the structure. What he's saying: While Trump allies have argued the latest attempt to recognize Trump does not violate the law, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said "[l]inguistic gymnastics cannot extricate the Kennedy Center's Board from an operative judicial order or the governing statute it was designed to…
At a hearing Thursday in Federal District Court in Washington, Judge Cooper told Justice Department lawyers that he will have to issue a ruling blocking the center from moving forward unless the center delays adding the inscription.
Workers finished removing President Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building.
On Friday, a federal judge denied an appeal by the Kennedy Center's board of trustees for a stay on the removal of President Trump's name from the building. Then the Trump administration filed for an emergency stay, and that too was denied.
A judge rejected a request to pause a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove references to President Trump from the building. The institution appealed, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.
The first recent loss came on May 29, when U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered that Trump’s name be stripped from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.