Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• D.C. Circuit Court denied Trump's emergency motion to stay Kennedy Center removal — Late on June 12, 2026, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump's emergency motion requesting a stay of Judge Cooper's order to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center. Despite the court's denial, the removal of signage took longer than anticipated due to the extensive scaffolding and labor required. The Department of Justice requested twelve additional hours to comply with the court order, stating the letters would come down "in the early hours of the morning of June 13," presumably to avoid the large audience watching the removal in person and on livestream.
• Judge Cooper denied DOJ stay request on Kennedy Center removal order — Judge Cooper rejected the Justice Department's request for a stay on his removal order, ruling that the government had not demonstrated it would prevail on the merits of its appeal. Cooper stated that staying the order "would not be in the public interest, which is rarely served by the 'perpetuation' of 'unlawful' governmental action."
• Justice Department filed notice of appeal of Kennedy Center removal order — Hours after the Kennedy Center board voted to launch a last-minute appeal to Judge Cooper's removal order, lawyers from the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal. They requested a stay on the judge's order, arguing that the board would be "forced to squander time and money" if the appeals court ruled in its favor and that it "would be incredibly confusing for the public" if Trump's name went back up after removal.
• Federal judge ordered Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center — A federal judge gave Trump 14 days to remove his name from the Kennedy Center. The deadline hit at midnight on June 12, 2026. Trump's legal team filed a last-minute stay request, arguing the removal would be "wasteful" and "confusing to the public," and escalated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an emergency reprieve. Plaintiffs, including board member Joyce Beatty, responded that there is no real injury if the name is later restored, and documented real harm from the renaming: artists canceled performances, ticket sales dropped precipitously, and viewership of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast fell. A judge upheld the ruling, and the Trump name was expected to come off the Kennedy Center around 6 p.m. ET on June 12.
• Judge denied Trump's emergency motion to reverse Kennedy Center name removal ruling — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. denied Trump's last-minute emergency petition seeking to reverse an earlier court order requiring removal of his name from the Kennedy Center. A work crew was deployed at the court-mandated deadline to remove the name, but work was halted due to rain. Trump subsequently filed an emergency stay petition with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming the Kennedy Center board would face bankruptcy if forced to return donations received during his tenure.
• Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center facade — Workers removed the lettering referencing President Donald Trump from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 12, 2026, following the federal judge's order. The removal occurred around 6 p.m. ET after the midnight deadline passed.
• Department of Justice requested extension to comply with Kennedy Center removal order — The Department of Justice requested twelve additional hours from the court to comply with Judge Cooper's order to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, stating that the letters would be removed "in the early hours of the morning of June 13." The request came after the government missed the midnight June 12 deadline, with the DOJ implicitly acknowledging that the removal would occur when there would not be a large audience watching either in person or on livestream.

Supporting reports

• US District Judge Orders Kennedy Center to Remove Trump's Name from Website — US District Judge Christopher Cooper issued an order requiring the Kennedy Center to remove all references to "Trump Kennedy Center" from its website and materials. The Kennedy Center complied by removing Trump's name from its website on Monday, June 8, ahead of a June 12 deadline set by the center's general counsel. Cooper's 94-page ruling stated that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center's official name, which is statutorily designated for President Kennedy. The judge also temporarily blocked a proposed $257 million renovation project that would have closed the venue for two years.