Judge rejects bid to halt removal of Trump's name from Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON: A US federal judge rejected a bid by the board of the Kennedy Center and the Justice Department on Friday to halt the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the performing arts venue.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken repeated measures to put his name and image in official spaces — an abrupt break with American political tradition.

An eager crowd gathered outside the storied venue Friday night, cheering occasionally as workers erected scaffolding, higher and higher, to come within reach of the signage. Thousands monitored from afar via livestream, too, awaiting the moment when Trump’s name would be torn from the wall.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in a ruling last month, ordered Trump’s name taken off the iconic building in the nation’s capital by Friday.

The board of trustees, which consists of Trump allies, and the Justice Department filed an appeal on Thursday asking Cooper to stay his ruling.

The judge turned down the request, saying the public interest “is rarely served by the ‘perpetuation’ of ‘unlawful’ governmental action.”

Cooper said in his May 29 ruling that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had been illegally renamed after Trump and only Congress has the right to change its name.

He gave the administration 14 days to remove Trump’s name from the marble facade and any materials linked to the venue.

Following the district court’s ruling on Friday, the board and the Justice Department lodged a further appeal with a higher court seeking to halt the removal of Trump’s name. That appeal is pending.

Workers began erecting scaffolding in the area of the building that bears Trump’s name after the district court’s ruling but as of 11 pm Eastern Time (0300 GMT) it had not been taken down.

The Kennedy Center dropped Trump’s name from the website of the institution earlier this week.

Cooper also issued a temporary block on Trump’s demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which was due to start in July.

A furious Trump reacted by saying he was giving up control of the venue, which he seized at the start of his second term last year by naming himself chairman.

The center’s governing board, which Trump stacked with loyalists, voted to rename the venue the “Trump Kennedy Center” in December and the Republican president’s full name was added to the facade in large, all-capital letters above that of Kennedy.

A number of artists canceled scheduled performances following the move.

The now-defunct US Institute of Peace was renamed after Trump, and his face stares down from huge banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture.

The Trump administration is also seeking to have his image on a $250 bill to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence from Britain.