The clock ran out on the stay request
A federal appeals court on Friday evening denied a last-minute effort to stop a lower court order that told the Kennedy Center to remove President Trump’s name from the building. That means the lower court ruling stands for now, and the deadline to finish the job was still moving forward as the evening wore on. In Washington, of course, nobody ever seems to run out of lawyers, but they do run out of patience when the paperwork starts flying.
Judge Cooper said Congress owns the name
The dispute goes back to a ruling last month from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, who blocked Trump from closing the Kennedy Center and ordered the name removed by midnight Friday. Cooper wrote that Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it. The case came from a lawsuit filed by Democrat Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the board. Democratic activist lawyer Norm Eisen helped drive the lawsuit and celebrated after the ruling, calling it a win against what he described as Trump’s corruption.
The Kennedy Center fight is now bigger than a sign on a wall
Trump announced in February that the Trump Kennedy Center would be shut down for two years for major renovations. Last year, the Kennedy Center board elected him as board chair, which only made this showdown more dramatic. The center had planned to reopen on July 4, 2026, as what it called a “World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment.” Now the question is whether leadership will keep fighting or let crews finish removing the name before time runs out.
https://x.com/NormEisen/status/2060437669365080305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/2065581227600421342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
JIMMY
Find more articles like this at steadfastandloyal.com.