In the early hours of Saturday morning, crews worked to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the exterior of the Kennedy Center in Washington, hours after a judge rejected an emergency appeal that would’ve blocked the removal.
The administration added Trump’s name in December after the center’s board of trustees unanimously agreed to rename it. This prompted some critics to raise concerns, since Trump handpicked the current board.
According to The Guardian, a crowd had gathered in front of the building to witness the removal. The outlook reported that it took about 30 minutes to remove Trump’s name.
Why are they removing his name?
In late May, a federal judge ordered that the government remove Trump’s name from the performing arts center. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that the center’s board acted beyond its authority when it voted to rename the facility since it lacked Congress’s approval.
In his 94-page decision, Cooper wrote that “because the Defendants are currently in violation of Congress’s express statutory direction,” they must “remove President Trump’s name from the institution’s title, as represented on the façade of the Center, any other physical or digital signage, and official materials.”
Cooper, nominated by former President Barack Obama, said that the board “overstepped its statutory bounds” when it renamed the facility after Trump. He said Congress “took pains to ensure that no other memorial-like dedication would grace the Center’s public space.”
“As a result, the Kennedy Center Board’s decision to rename the Center, along with its decision to affix President Trump’s name to the building’s façade, violate Congress’s unequivocal mandate. As stated at the outset, Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
How did Trump react?
On Friday, the organization removed Trump’s name from its website and sent emails offering tickets to an event at the “Kennedy Center” without mentioning Trump, The Guardian reported.
By Friday afternoon, when Cooper released his ruling, lawyers for the Justice Department, representing the Center, appealed his denial. They urged the appeals court to pause Cooper’s order.
“It does not make sense to alter the center’s name and signage now, only to potentially revert the name again after what should be a successful appeal,” the DOJ said.
The court denied the second request shortly after 7 p.m., prompting crowds to begin gathering outside the building. Then, late Friday, the DOJ said in a court filing that it would miss the deadline because thunderstorms in the area could pose safety risks to the workers and sought a 12-hour extension.
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