Second Attempt to Put Trump’s Name on Kennedy Center Faces Court Challenge

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” attorneys for Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member on the storied arts institution’s board, wrote.

Trump-Kennedy Center name

Rep. Joyce Beatty argued that the decision to add “renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump” in large letters below the venue’s official name was an “obvious” attempt to circumvent an earlier court ruling. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A second attempt to affix President Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center is facing an emergency court challenge, with attorneys for one member of the institution’s board calling the move a “breathtaking act of defiance.”

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who serves as an ex officio board member, wrote in a scathing motion Thursday urging the judge to stop the new signage from going up.

The attorneys argued that the decision to add “renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump” in large letters below the venue’s official name was an “obvious” attempt to circumvent an earlier court ruling that required the Kennedy Center to remove Trump’s name from the building’s facade.