By Bo Erickson and Ryan Patrick Jones
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – The Kennedy Center in Washington on Thursday ordered staff to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the institution to comply with a federal court ruling, according to two people familiar with the directive.
The memo from the John F. Kennedy Center’s general counsel is the first indication it is moving to reverse the name change made by Trump to the iconic building last year. Trump said last week he was directing his administration to conduct a “complete transfer” of the center’s operations to Congress in response to the court ruling.
“You must immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,’ or ‘Kennedy Center,'” the memo, which was seen by Reuters, said.
Other changes like signage, brochures, and websites “must be completed” by June 12.
In December, Trump added his name before Kennedy’s on the facade of the white marble building, prompting a lawsuit from Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board.
On May 29, a federal judge in Washington ruled the center cannot be renamed without an act of Congress. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper directed the Trump administration to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and to eliminate any references to a “Trump Kennedy Center” from official materials within 14 days.
It is unclear when the Republican president’s name will be physically removed from the building.
The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 as a memorial to the late president, who was assassinated in 1963. Its board voted in December to alter the center’s name to include Trump, who had replaced several board members and appointed himself a trustee.
Trump’s plan to renovate the Kennedy Center is part of a broader push to reshape Washington’s monumental core. On Thursday, Trump announced his administration plans to build a promenade to the Lincoln Memorial. He also intends to erect a 250-foot (76-meter) arch and to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Ryan P. Jones, editing by Ross Colvin and Cynthia Osterman)
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