The arts institution followed a judge’s order to take President Trump’s name off its facade. It had been granted a 12-hour extension to complete the work.
President Trump has made false or exaggerated claims of a Civil War-era push for a triumphal arch, hundreds of millions spent on repairs on the Reflecting Pool, and an absence of working fountains.
After generations of slow and often staid improvements, the Trump era has already added a splashy flair to today’s Washington, including an Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon cage rising on the South Lawn, ready to host a fight to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
One day before a deadline to take the president’s name off its facade, the arts institution appealed a federal judge’s ruling that also temporarily blocked it from closing.
Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that only Congress had the power to alter the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was dedicated to the president in a 1964 law.