Rep. Beatty Seeks Emergency Order Blocking Kennedy Center Board’s Repeated Bids to Deface Building With Trump’s Name
August 20, 2026
After blatant acts of defiance, filing urges court to enter immediate administrative stay and grant permanent injunctive relief
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) filed an emergency motion today asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees from once again attempting to deface the Kennedy Center by adding President Donald Trump’s name through a hastily adopted resolution.
Represented by counsel from the Washington Litigation Group and Democracy Defenders Action, Rep. Beatty filed the motion to stop Trump’s handpicked Board from — yet again — inscribing his name on the building’s front portico twice while renaming the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” as they move to shut down the institution for two years.
As the filing notes, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” This latest filing comes less than two months after Judge Cooper ruled that the Board unlawfully added President Trump’s name above John F. Kennedy’s name last December and ordered Trump’s name removed, stating that “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” Rep. Beatty urged the court to intervene after Trump’s Board voted last week to change the building’s facade to read “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” and add the term “Trump Kennedy Center” back onto the building in defiance of the Court’s ruling.
“The Board’s repeated efforts to break the law are a breathtaking act of defiance, but I will continue to stand up against all unlawful acts — enough is enough,” said Rep. Beatty. “The Kennedy Center is a sacred space that belongs to the American people. At every turn, Trump’s handpicked Board has flouted court orders and attempted to circumvent the law and the rulings of the judiciary.”
“Donald Trump lost in court once. Now his supporters are trying to deface the Kennedy Center again by putting his name back on the building and renaming the Kennedy Center’s grounds — despite a court order blocking them from doing so, and despite the damage they’ve already inflicted on this treasured national memorial,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and board member of Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky, principal and managing counsel of Washington Litigation Group. “It’s time to put an end to this childish gambit.”
The motion notes that the Defendants have repeatedly refused Rep. Beatty’s requests to hold off on implementing the resolution until the Court has ruled.
Rep. Joyce Beatty is represented by Nathaniel Zelinsky, Kyle Freeny, and Alex Kristofcak of Washington Litigation Group, and Norm Eisen, Steve Jonas, and David W. Ogden of Democracy Defenders Action.
The motion can be found here.
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The Washington Litigation Group is a nonpartisan team of attorneys dedicated to defending individuals and institutions that have been unlawfully targeted for exercising their legal rights and to fighting against governmental overreach.
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