WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (DC Times Online) — The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees has voted to name part of the Washington, D.C., complex “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” and add a tribute to President Donald Trump beneath the center’s existing facade sign, according to people briefed on the board’s Aug. 13 meeting and reports from CNN, Fox News, USA Today and ABC News.
The reported facade inscription reads: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board also wants the words “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” added to the building if the fund reaches a $100 million endowment, Fox News reported.
The actions would not formally change the center’s legal name. The institution remains the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, the name established by federal law.
What the board voted to do
The votes took place during a closed-door Zoom meeting, according to USA Today and CNN. The board reportedly approved the facade inscription, the plaza designation and a plan for a two-year partial closure of the main building for renovations.
The separate REACH arts and education wing is expected to remain open during the closure, CNN and USA Today reported. The accounts did not provide a start date, construction schedule or detailed cost breakdown.
Fox News reported that the resolution recognizing Trump’s contributions passed 20-3 and that the partial-closure measure passed 23-3. The report identified Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington as opponents of both measures. An official vote record was not included in the available accounts.
Beatty, an ex-officio trustee, said the plaza vote was an attempt to get around a federal court ruling. Her lawyer, Norm Eisen, also criticized the board’s action, according to ABC News.
Why the name is legally disputed
The votes follow a legal fight over Trump’s name and the Kennedy Center building. Reports said the board voted in December 2025 to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
In May 2026, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the board did not have authority to change the center’s formal name and ordered Trump’s name removed, according to reports citing the judge’s opinion. The court’s reasoning was based on the federal law that created the center. Cooper was quoted in court documents as saying: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
Reports said Trump’s name was removed from the building in June. The latest board action appears to distinguish between changing the center’s formal name and adding a name or tribute to its grounds and facade. But it remains unclear whether the plaza designation is intended as a legal name, a site label or a future signage change, and what approvals would be needed.
Beatty said in a statement quoted by ABC News: “This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed.”
The Kennedy Center’s public confirmation of the plaza vote was not included in the available accounts. The board resolutions, official minutes and the documents governing the proposed fund were also not publicly supplied in those accounts.
What happens next
The center is expected to provide the federal court with information about the renovation and closure by Aug. 18, CNN reported. The administration’s appeal of the earlier naming ruling and its current status were not detailed in the available material.
For Washington’s arts community, the dispute affects both the identity of a major performing-arts venue and access to its main stages. A two-year partial closure could alter where performances, education programs and public events take place, although no attendance, ticket-sales or programming data were provided.
The REACH is expected to continue operating, but the available reports do not explain which programs would move there or how the renovation would affect the center’s theaters, galleries and public spaces.
The proposed endowment inscription is also conditional. The amount already raised by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund, the identities of its donors and the fund’s legal structure were not disclosed in the available information.
