Board votes to add a Trump inscription and name the plaza after the President; agrees to pause pending further briefing

Other

Date
Actor
Kennedy Center Board of Trustees
Type
Other
Section
SUPPLEMENT: THE KENNEDY CENTER TAKEOVER IS ABSENT FROM THE CULTURAL-INSTITUTIONS RECORD, THOUGH THE SMITHSONIAN, NEA, NEH, IMLS, AND NPS ACTIONS ARE ALL COVERED

Summary

The board votes 20–3 to inscribe "restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump" beneath the existing signage and to name the Center's plaza after the President. In an August 18, 2026 court filing the board commits to taking no further action before September 8, 2026 while the parties brief whether the measures defy the May 2026 injunction. Beatty's counsel argued the trustees "seem intent on defying the Court's decision"; government counsel responded that "the record will demonstrate the Board's prudence."

Status

Pending. No action before September 8, 2026; D.C. Circuit appeal of the underlying injunction remains pending. The building remains open and the two-year closure remains suspended. Update, Sept. 23, 2026: On Sept. 15, 2026, the court (Cooper, J.) granted in part an emergency motion to enforce its permanent injunction and barred the board from inscribing "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump" on the main building or naming the grounds "President Donald J. Trump Plaza"; it denied as not yet ripe the request to bar a planned endowment inscription and ordered 60 days' notice before any such acknowledgment (D.D.C. No. 1:25-cv-04480, ECF 77). On Sept. 18, 2026, defendants moved to vacate the May 29, 2026 injunction (ECF 88); the motion was undecided as of Sept. 23, 2026.

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