The Kennedy Center's board voted to rename the area surrounding the iconic Washington venue "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" and restore his name to the building's facade, a move Democrats called an end-run around a federal court order issued earlier this year.
Trump's allies on the board pushed through both measures during a meeting that stretched past two hours on Thursday, with the president himself joining virtually for part of the session. The new signage approved for the building will read "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump," placed beneath the existing Kennedy Center lettering, the New York Post reported.
The vote marks the latest chapter in a months-long dispute over whether the president, who chairs the Kennedy Center board, can attach his name to the performing arts center that has stood along the Potomac since 1971. A federal judge ordered Trump's name removed earlier this year, but the board's new approach sidesteps that ruling by renaming the surrounding grounds rather than the building itself and by adding a descriptive credit line rather than a full rebrand.
The board had previously voted last December to rebrand the entire institution as the "Trump Kennedy Center." U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper struck that down, ruling the name change lacked congressional ratification, the legal requirement for renaming a federally chartered cultural institution.
Thursday's vote took a different path. Instead of renaming the center itself, the board created a new designation for the grounds and authorized facade language that credits Trump with a planned $250 million renovation. Democratic board members, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, objected.
Beatty issued a statement framing the move as defiance of the judiciary. She called the closure decision and the renaming agenda item a surprise:
"This morning's decision to close the Center and the surprise agenda item to put Donald Trump's name back on the building was more of the same. This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court's ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed."
Beatty did not specify which statutes she believes the board violated. The full vote breakdown, how many members supported or opposed the measures, was not disclosed.
Paolo Zampolli, a presidential appointee to the board, dismissed the criticism and urged Trump's name to be inscribed in large letters. He pushed back hard on claims that the planned renovation would shut down the Kennedy Center entirely.
Zampolli told the Post:
"I call on everyone who is complaining about what we're doing to go walk the building. To all of the haters, we're not closing the center. We're closing the main building. We're still going to use the $300 million structure called the Reach to do shows."
The Reach, a newer addition to the Kennedy Center campus, would keep performances running during the approximately two-year closure of the main building. Zampolli's $300 million figure for the structure was not independently confirmed in available reporting.
The administration has framed the renovation as a long-overdue investment in a building more than five decades old. White House spokeswoman Liz Huston offered a broader endorsement of the president's vision.
"Under President Trump's bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world."
Kennedy Center staff did not respond to the Post's request for comment.
Trump has said he plans to pour $250 million into refreshing the center. Whether that figure represents a confirmed appropriation, a budget proposal, or a pledge remains unclear from the board's public statements. The scope of the renovation and a firm start date for the main building closure have not been announced.
The legal terrain is just as uncertain. Judge Cooper's earlier order targeted the December rebranding because it lacked congressional sign-off. Thursday's approach, renaming the surrounding area rather than the building, and adding a descriptive credit rather than a title change, appears designed to avoid the same legal vulnerability. Whether opponents will mount a fresh challenge remains an open question. The battle over renaming Penn Station as part of a Trump-backed renovation deal shows how quickly these naming disputes can escalate into full legislative fights.
Beatty's accusation that the board is trying to "circumvent" the court ruling suggests Democrats see the new naming plan as legally indistinguishable from the old one. But the board's supporters can point to a meaningful difference: the Kennedy Center itself retains its original name, and the facade text credits a renovation rather than claiming ownership of the institution.
The Kennedy Center vote fits a pattern. The Trump administration has moved aggressively to reshape how federal institutions present themselves to the public. The president recently ordered warning signs posted outside a Smithsonian museum, calling certain exhibits inaccurate, another assertion of executive authority over a federally chartered cultural space.
Federal property decisions under this administration have drawn sharp reactions from both sides. A federal design panel recently backed permanent fencing around Lafayette Square, advancing despite opposition, a reminder that Trump's team has been willing to push through changes to iconic Washington spaces over Democratic objections.
Democrats on the Kennedy Center board clearly believe they are watching an institution co-opted. But the facts cut the other way: a building that opened in 1971 is getting a quarter-billion-dollar renovation, performances will continue at the Reach during construction, and the president's name will appear on the facade as a credit for the work, not as a replacement for the Kennedy name.
The administration has also shown a willingness to accept political friction in pursuit of high-profile wins. Trump's confirmed appearance at the World Cup final and his public rebuke of a cabinet member over a dropped vandalism case both reflect a president comfortable exercising authority and absorbing the backlash.
If Democrats want to stop Trump's name from going back on the Kennedy Center, they have a clear path: pass legislation. Until then, the board that runs the building has spoken, and the renovation money is on the table.