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Kennedy Center board, Justice Dept appeal order to remove Trump's name / Photo: Brendan Smialowski - AFP
Kennedy Center board, Justice Dept appeal order to remove Trump's name
The board of the Kennedy Center and the US Justice Department have appealed a federal judge's ruling ordering the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the performing arts venue.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper had ordered Trump's name last month to be removed from the building in the nation's capital that houses the Kennedy Center by Friday.
The board of trustees, which consists of Trump allies, and the Justice Department filed an appeal Thursday asking Cooper to stay his ruling.
"Requiring a name change now, only to potentially revert back to the current name after appeal, would be incredibly confusing for the public," they argued.
"Absent a stay, Defendants will be forced to squander time and money -- by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal," they said.
Earlier this week, the Kennedy Center dropped Trump's name from the website of the institution.
His name remains for the time being, however, on the building's white marble facade.
In his May 29 ruling, Cooper said the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had been illegally renamed after Trump and only Congress has the right to change its name.
He gave the administration 14 days to remove Trump's name from the facade and any materials linked to the venue.
Cooper also issued a temporary block on Trump's demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which was due to start in July.
A furious Trump reacted by saying he was giving up control of the venue, which he seized at the start of his second term last year by naming himself chairman.
In December, the center's governing board, which Trump stacked with loyalists, voted to rename the venue the "Trump Kennedy Center" and the Republican president's name was added to the facade in large letters above that of Kennedy.
A number of artists canceled scheduled performances following the move.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken repeated measures to put his name and image in official spaces -- an abrupt break with American political tradition.
The disbanded US Institute of Peace has been renamed after Trump, and his face stares down from huge banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture.
The Trump administration is also seeking to have his image on a $250 bill to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence from Britain.
(N.Miller--TAG)
