A high-stakes lawsuit was filed on 22 December 2025 to block the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The federal court challenge seeks to halt the unilateral decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to rebrand the iconic venue as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” via a December 18 vote by the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center.
Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, filed the lawsuit. The case argues that the move violates Public Law 88-260. This law originally established the center in 1964.
The lawsuit specifically contends that the name is codified in U.S. statute and only an act of the U.S. Congress has the power to change it.
Beatty is being represented by Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group.
Note that Trump installed himself as board chair earlier in 2025. Most of the members of the board are also his appointees.
The board justified the rebranding by claiming that the direct intervention of Trump rescued the institution from financial flux during his first year back in office. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the change as a fitting tribute.
Nonetheless, despite the backlash, the administration moved with lightning speed to update the physical property. Workers began installing the word “Trump” on the exterior signage and marquees within 24 hours after the vote.
Online assets were also updated to feature the rebrand.
Beatty has described this as an “unlawful rebranding” designed to create a permanent change before a judge can intervene.
Another critical component of the litigation involves claims of procedural misconduct during the decisisae December 18 board meeting.
Beatty alleged they were digitally “muted” and blocked from speaking or voting.
The lawsuit is a constitutional separation-of-powers case.
It asks the court to determine if the President can use his appointment power to overhaul a federal board and unilaterally change the name of a taxpayer-funded landmark
The conflict is part of a broader ideological shift at the institution led by President Trump and current Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell. The duo has initiated a “de-woke-ification” effort aimed at reshaping the mission and programming of the Center.
Several events related to diversity initiatives have already been canceled under the new leadership. These decisions are part of a stated goal to move the national cultural hub away from what the second Trump administration calls “woke culture.”
The lawsuit also highlights a parallel effort by House Republicans to rename the main Opera House within the facility after Melania Trump.
Critics have argued that the decisions and proposed changes at the Kennedy Center represent a total politicization of a venue meant to be a nonpartisan living memorial.