Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering Trump's name removed from building

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via WAVY

Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering Trump’s name removed from building

STEVEN SLOAN, Associated Press
10 minutes ago


A worker sits on scaffolding at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has denied a request from the Kennedy Center to pause a ruling ordering President Donald Trump’s name removed from building.

That denial came Friday. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled last month Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper ruled only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed by Friday. ... ‘A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump’s name. And an email earlier this week sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board of trustees that named him chairman.

Read more: https://www.wavy.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-judge-denies-kennedy-center-request-for-pause-in-ruling-ordering-trumps-name-removed-from-building/amp/

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https://bsky.app/profile/lizdye.bsky.social

******
Liz Dye
‪@lizdye.bsky.social‬

And there it is. Judge Cooper denies the Kennedy Center's request to stay his order taking Trump's name off the building.

Let the chiseling begin!

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72069932/beatty-v-trump/?order_by=desc

MINUTE ORDER: Defendants' 55 Motion for a Stay of Permanent Injunction Pending Appeal is hereby DENIED. "A stay pending appeal is an extraordinary remedy" and may only be granted if the traditional stay factors are satisfied. KalshiEX LLC v. CFTC, 119 F.4th 58, 63 (D.C. Cir. 2024) (cleaned up). Defendants have not carried their burden to establish that a stay of the Court's May 29, 2026 permanent injunction concerning the Kennedy Center's renaming is warranted pending an appeal of the underlying ruling to the D.C. Circuit. Most notably, for the detailed reasons laid out in the Court's ruling, Defendants have not "made a strong showing that [they] are likely to succeed on the merits" of any appeal. Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 426 (2009) (quoting Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 (1987)). Nor have Defendants demonstrated that they "will be irreparably injured absent a stay," id. (quoting Hilton, 481 U.S. at 776), given both the de minimis resources that would be required to restore the Center's current name in the event of a successful appeal and the lack of record evidence linking increased donations to the current name. Further, Defendants have apparently taken substantial steps toward complying with the Court's May 29 permanent injunction order on renaming. See Mot. for Misc. Relief, ECF No. 51, Ex. A (June 4, 2026 memorandum from the Kennedy Center's Office of General Counsel directing staff to comply with the Court's permanent injunction on renaming). These efforts undermine the notion that Defendants face irreparable harm in complying with the order in full. The failure to demonstrate irreparable harm is "fatal" to a movant's stay request, KalshiEx, 119 F.4th at 64, as is the failure to show a likelihood of success on the merits. What's more, issuance of a stay pending appeal would not be in the public interest, which is rarely served by the "perpetuation" of "unlawful" governmental action. League of Women Voters of the U.S. v. Newby, 838 F.3d 1, 12 (D.C…
ALT
1:05 PM · Jun 12, 2026
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And there it is. Judge Cooper denies the Kennedy Center's request to stay his order taking Trump's name off the building.

Let the chiseling begin!

www.courtlistener.com/docket/72069...

— Liz Dye (@lizdye.bsky.social) 2026-06-12T17:05:57.398Z

[SheltieLover]

1. Flying ketchup alert!

[liberalla]

25. In progress now!

[SheltieLover]

28. Ketchup bottle stampeed, running for their lives

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. Can't come off fast enough! Will be watching MS NOW all day, lol.

[dweller]

3. If they run really fast

They may be able to get a stay at court of appeals

tic toc



✌🏻

[Bayard]

4. Nanner Nanner NANner........

[sheshe2]

5. Excellent!!!!!!

Now those letters as fast as you can

[Grim Chieftain]

6. While they are pulling his name off the Kennedy Center

I wish they'd pull his orange butt out of our White House.

[Trueblue1968]

22. good wish Grim. My wish is for a King Louis & Queen Marie Antoinette action !!!!

...... A la French Revolution Action.

[ChicagoTeamster]

7. Oh, if only they could get the same kind of order to shut down the UFC fight on the white house lawn.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. No such luck.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5922032-trump-ufc-white-house-fight/

[charliea]

17. Yeah, but small mercies...

Weather forecast is for an early thunderstorm followed by hot, humid, and gnat infested weather. Maybe they'll choke on it.

[ChicagoTeamster]

19. Fuck! well maybe there will be a lot of no shows like Trump's last golf tournament.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Great news!

[hkp11]

10. Judge stood his ground!

now just need to get rid of the JFK board members that drumpf installed...

[durablend]

11. "TEAR THAT SHIT DOWN!"

GET MOVING!!!!!!!!!

[AverageOldGuy]

12. THE SCAFFOLDING IS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures here.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/06/12/kennedy-center-removes-trumps-name-building/


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=1440&impolicy=high_res

[charliea]

20. Found a live view

And the workers are moving in now...

https://www.wusa9.com/video/news/live-crews-spotted-at-kennedy-center-as-name-removal-deadline-approaches/65-fed90615-137d-496d-a6cf-42ba8b639dfd

[AverageOldGuy]

13. June 12: A New National Holiday!!!

Restoration Day,

[relogic]

14. You know

our country is in deep trouble when we are left to exhilaration at seeing the refurbishing of shameful damage done to the name and structure of the KC. The horrific reality unfolded before judicious, astute citizens is the profligate pandering given this tyrant to proceed with his vanity projects since 1/20/25.

They demean the the right of the people to preserve what’s left of our democracy and his pompous, destructive endeavors ridicule unaltered, factual history.

[calimary]

24. Hey, gotta start somewhere!

[Figarosmom]

15. 👍

[pat_k]

16. Woohoo!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. MS NOW-Judge denies Kennedy Center board's request to keep Trump's name

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper previously ruled that the board, whose members were handpicked by Trump, cannot unilaterally change the center’s name.

BREAKING: Judge denies Kennedy Center board’s request to keep Trump’s name on the building

— MS NOW (@ms.now) 2026-06-12T17:47:10Z

https://www.ms.now/news/judge-denies-kennedy-center-boards-request-to-keep-trumps-name

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper denied the Trump administration’s request to issue a stay on his May 29 ruling while an appeal plays out. Cooper wrote that the center had already taken steps to comply with that ruling by removing Trump’s name from some of its branding ahead of the Friday, June 12 deadline.

“These efforts undermine the notion that Defendants face irreparable harm in complying with the order in full,” Cooper wrote.

The judge had previously ruled that the Kennedy Center board of trustees — whose members were handpicked by Trump and who subsequently named him president of the organization — cannot unilaterally change the center’s name.

“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote.

The Trump administration also filed an appeal with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday. If the court does not issue a stay pending action on that appeal, Trump’s name will be removed from the building by Friday night.

[calimary]

23. Glad that damned name is slated for removal.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could get that done with ALL such intrusions forced on us by the Orange Fuckwad?

[Akakoji]

21. Now if we could only scrub the parasitic cancer off

our national politics, our religions, our reputation, and our Democracy that Trump and Vance and Rubio and Miller and all the GOP co-collaborators have become. Even in the Reagan years, the corruption, the violence, the stupidity, the selfishness was never this bad.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. Tough luck slobfather

[MoseShrute]

27. At least get the T off

As quickly as possible. That way when big strong alito calls ( with tears in his eyes, no doubt) it will have “rump” as the name.