Rep. Beatty and co-counsel file opposition to uphold court order blocking Kennedy Center renaming after the DOJ attempts to appeal the decision.

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group today opposed the Trump administration’s request to pause a federal court order blocking the unlawful renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The filing follows the D.C. Circuit’s June 12 denial of the government’s emergency request for an immediate administrative stay, which left the district court’s compliance deadline in place. The court of appeals has not yet ruled on the government’s broader request to keep the Trump name in place while the appeal proceeds.

The filing–which is accessible here–argues that it would be inappropriate to grant the Trump administration extraordinary relief, when they are simultaneously hanging a tarp over the Kennedy Center’s facade to hide the restored name from public view.  From the filing: “It would send a particularly concerning message if the Court were to reward Appellants, who willfully flouted the statutes Congress passed; played chicken with the judicial system; now threaten to sabotage this sacred institution; and continue to obscure the Kennedy Center’s façade in an act of petty defiance.”

According to the government’s brief in the D.C. Circuit, Trump attempted to create a new legal obstacle to compliance with the ruling by amending the bylaws for something called The Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation. The brief claims the bylaws create a "poison pill" that imposes a financial penalty on the Kennedy Center if the Trump name is removed. Democracy Defenders Action and Washington Litigation Group argue that the administration should not be rewarded for threatening to sabotage the Kennedy Center if they do not get their way.

“When Donald Trump was forced to remove his name from the Kennedy Center, it sent an important message to the American people,” said Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. “The government's latest filing underscores that this fight is far from over. But at the end of the day, the law here is clear: Congress named the Kennedy Center, and only Congress can change its name. Now, President Trump is hanging a ridiculous tarp to hide his embarrassment, and is threatening to sabotage the Kennedy Center by stopping programming. This case is about the rule of law, and I am proud to keep fighting to protect this sacred institution."

“At every turn in this case, the Trump administration has chosen confrontation over accountability,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.) of Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky of the Washington Litigation Group, co-counsel for Rep. Joyce Beatty. “The district court ruled that the administration had no authority to rename the Kennedy Center for President Trump. Instead of accepting that legal limit, they ignored the statute, staged last-minute theatrics in court, and used their filings to keep pressing the same defiant posture the court rejected. They are now asking for extraordinary relief from the very order they have spent weeks resisting.”

Background:

Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group originally sued President Trump on behalf of Rep. Beatty to stop the renaming of the Kennedy Center in December of 2025. On May 29th, the court ruled to permanently halt the unlawful effort to rename the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump. Within 14 days, the defendants were ordered to remove all signage from the Kennedy Center that renames it for Donald Trump, and similarly fix the website to remove Trump’s name, withdraw all trademark applications for the name “Trump Kennedy Center,” and submit sworn proof of compliance to the court. The court separately enjoined defendants from winding down the Kennedy Center’s programming activities and closing the Center’s doors on July 5, as previously planned.

On June 12, the D.C. Circuit denied an emergency administrative stay from the DOJ which would have paused the order to remove the name that evening. The government's request for a stay pending appeal—which would allow them to put the Trump name back up while the appeal proceeds—is still pending.

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Democracy Defenders Action brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.

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.