- The Trump-controlled board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has voted to add an inscription reading “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” directly below the venue's main sign.
- The board apparently found a workaround after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked an earlier effort to formally rename the building after Trump. The Kennedy Center had already installed Trump’s name plates but stripped them from the building on June 13.
- The board also approved a $250 million renovation plan managed by real estate firm JLL that will close the performing arts venue for two years, with completion expected by summer 2028.
- Representative Joyce Beatty and legal representatives from Democracy Defenders Action condemned the board’s decision, issued Thursday, as a transparent and legally dubious attempt to circumvent court orders and congressional statutes.
- The Justice Department is appealing the federal court order requiring the removal of Trump's name and argued in filings that the center stood to suffer severe financial losses without his name being on the building.
IN FULL
