The Kennedy Center’s general counsel ordered employees to use the institution’s legal name or “Kennedy Center” after a federal judge ruled Trump’s name had been unlawfully added to the arts venue.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Employees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have been instructed to restore the institution’s official name in workplace communications after a court ruling blocked the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the venue.
An internal memo from the Kennedy Center’s general counsel directed staff to immediately update email signatures, letterhead and other documents so they identify the institution as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or the shorter “Kennedy Center,” according to The New York Times.
“To comply with this order, you must immediately change email signatures, letterhead and other documents to reflect the name as ‘The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,’ or ‘Kennedy Center,’” the memo stated.
The memo did not provide further details about the order behind the directive and did not say whether additional branding or communications changes would follow. It was also not immediately clear whether the instruction applies to external marketing materials, public-facing signs or other branding beyond internal and written communications.
The directive follows a federal judge’s ruling less than a week earlier that Trump’s name had been illegally added to the Kennedy Center. The judge also blocked the administration from closing the cultural institution for major renovations.
Trump, who was elected chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board after a leadership restructuring earlier this year, said after the ruling that he was backing away from his proposed renovation plan and returning control of the arts institution to Congress.
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Kennedy Center has gone through leadership, staffing and programming changes in recent months following the overhaul that placed Trump at the head of its board. The name directive is the latest development involving the federally supported performing arts center as legal and governance questions continue.
The Kennedy Center, located along the Potomac River in Washington, is the nation’s premier performing arts venue and national cultural center. It hosts theater, music, dance and educational programming throughout the year and is also home to the annual Kennedy Center Honors.
The institution has long been known publicly by both its full legal name, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the shortened “Kennedy Center.”
Established in 1958 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, the center opened in 1971. It receives federal funding and also relies on private donations, ticket sales and fundraising to support its operations.
The internal memo did not announce any change to the Kennedy Center’s mission, governance structure or programming. Its instructions focused only on ensuring staff use the approved institutional name in official written materials.
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