At least for the moment, it’s called The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts again.
On Saturday, officials confirmed in new court filings that President Donald Trump’s name has been removed from the Washington, D.C., arts venue named for Pres. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963.
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In one filing with the judge who ordered Trump’s name be taken down, the Center’s chief operating officer and executive director, Matt Floca, certified that “all physical signage” has been removed:
Matt Floca…told the court that he was a “responsible official of the Kennedy Center” qualified to certify compliance with the order. He wrote that the board of trustees and the center have removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”
As we previously wrote, the order made on May 29 by U.S. District Court Judge Christoper R. Cooper stated that only Congress – not the Board of Trustees of the Center – could rename it:
U.S. District Court Judge Christoper R. Cooper issued his ruling on Friday, saying that the center’s Board of Trustees overstepped its authority by “unilaterally” voting to change the name.
Congress renamed the facility in 1964 to honor President John F. Kennedy after his assassination. Cooper ruled Friday that Congress’ move to rename the center back then “makes the institution’s name abundantly clear,” and that lawmakers “took pains to ensure that no other memorial-like dedication would grace the Center’s public spaces.”
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper said.
He also paused the Board’s voting to close the venue for two years to accomodate the planned extensive renovation project there.
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Included in the piece was Pres. Trump’s reaction immediately following the release of the ruling, in which he said the administration will leave the matter to Congress.
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The DOJ (Justice Department), in a separate filing, also certified the change at the Center on Saturday:
The Justice Department filed a certification in federal court one hour before a judge’s Saturday noon deadline that said President Donald Trump’s name has been “removed” from “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds.”
That change to the Center required an extension of the midnight Eastern Friday deadline – previously set by the judge, as the ABC News piece linked above reported, for “safety concerns for workers,” due to strong thunderstorms in the area, which the judge approved as long as the work was certified as completed by noon Saturday:
The government requested “a short extension of time” for 12 hours until noon on June 13, saying the work “has been delayed because of thunderstorms in the District of Columbia that presented safety concerns for workers,” according to the government’s latest filing.
A federal judge in D.C. ordered the Trump administration to certify by noon on Saturday that it has complied with a court order to remove Trump’s name from the granting a brief extension.
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AP reporting shared part of the Trump administration’s unsuccessful argument, which it filed on Friday, to retain the lettering with the president’s name:
…[T]he Kennedy Center’s leadership argued….that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.
“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”
The Center hinted, too, that this might not be the final word, as the appeal works its way through the courts – but more time passing would have a lasting cost:
The institution also suggested that the president’s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.
If the court denied the venue’s request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”
As is the case with all legal wranglings, we’ll see how this plays out, readers. Stay tuned!
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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