Kennedy Center board votes to put Trump's name back on building

What the report says

The Kennedy Center board in Washington, DC has voted to restore President Donald Trump’s name to the building, according to reporting attributed to the BBC and a statement from Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who sits on the board. The proposed wording would add “Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” to the formal name of the performing arts venue. The decision was taken on Thursday, and the board is described as including many Trump allies.

The move comes after a federal judge ruled in late May that Trump’s name had been added unlawfully because the Kennedy Center cannot be renamed without congressional approval. That earlier order led to the name’s removal last month, after a brief attempt by the Trump administration to pause the ruling. An appeals court did not immediately block the removal, leaving the judge’s order in place while further arguments continue.

The board also voted to move ahead with a two-year closure for planned renovations, a step that had previously been blocked by the same judge. Beatty criticized the latest action as an attempt to sidestep the court’s decision, while the White House defended Trump’s role in the center’s direction. The dispute is part of a broader fight over the identity of the Kennedy Center, which US law treats as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.