Fight over who controls Kennedy Center name heads to federal court
A legal battle over the name of the Kennedy Center is now heading to federal court. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat and ex officio trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, has sued President Donald Trump and the center’s board over a vote to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center.
Filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the lawsuit asks a judge to void the board’s action and order the removal of Trump’s name from the building’s façade and all official materials.
“This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order,” the complaint states.
Lawsuit argues only Congress can change the name
Beatty’s legal filing argues that the Kennedy Center name is written into federal law, meaning only Congress, not the board, has the authority to alter it. Her attorneys say the renaming undermines the center’s purpose as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy.
The lawsuit also points to statutory limits on how private donors may be recognized on the building, arguing those restrictions reinforce Congress’s intent that the center honor Kennedy alone.
Suit challenges Trump’s influence over the board
The complaint accuses Trump of reshaping the board ahead of the vote by removing independent trustees and replacing them with political allies. It says the president pushed out the center’s president, installed Richard Grenell, and that the reconstituted board later elected him chair.
Beatty’s attorneys argue the board breached their fiduciary duties by approving the name change, violating federal statutes that require trustees to preserve the center as a memorial to Kennedy.
Former Obama White House ethics counsel Norman Eisen and co-counsel Nathaniel Zelinsky said in a statement quoted by Forbes that “Congress named the Kennedy Center as a national memorial to President Kennedy, and only Congress can change that.”
The White House, however, has said trustees voted unanimously to rename the building in recognition of Trump’s role in what it describes as “saving” the center.
Closed-door meeting and overnight signage fuel dispute
According to the complaint, the board meeting approving the name change was held at the home of trustee and Trump supporter Andrea Wynn, without advance notice that renaming would be discussed.
Beatty, who attended virtually, says she was muted during the meeting and prevented from voicing her opposition before the vote was finalized.
The lawsuit says that by the following morning, new signage had been installed on the center’s front portico reading “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The institution’s website and social media accounts also began using the shortened name “The Trump Kennedy Center.”
Beatty described the rapid rollout as conduct “more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic.”
What the lawsuit seeks
Beatty is asking the court to declare that the board lacked authority to rename the center and that its lawful name remains “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
The lawsuit seeks injunctions requiring Trump’s name to be removed from building and all digital platforms, and barring officials from using any title that suggests the center is named for Trump without a new act of Congress.
The complaint also asks the court to ensure Beatty can fully participate in future board meetings or, alternatively, to issue an order compelling officials to reverse the renaming. A senior White House official previously told The New York Times that the administration rejects Beatty’s legal arguments and does not expect Congress to intervene, setting the stage for a court fight over who ultimately controls the Kennedy Center’s name.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
