The Kennedy Center board is mounting a last-minute effort to keep President Donald Trump’s name on the facade of the iconic performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it by Friday. The board voted Thursday to seek a stay of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center.

Background

The ruling stated that only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed by Friday. The board’s move marks a shift from a June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel saying email signatures, letterhead, and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped the president’s name. An email earlier this week, sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony, came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

Norm Eisen, a board member at Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group, said in a statement, “The Trump administration’s 11th-hour gambit after waiting nearly two weeks evinces desperation… We will be vigorously contesting this latest ploy as we have throughout the case on behalf of Congresswoman Beatty and the American people.”

After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a hand-picked board of trustees that named him chairman.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.