Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, is so upset at the tarp in front of the Kennedy Center that she filed a motion for its removal.
She calls the tarp a “petty act of defiance” from the Trump administration after the president was ordered by a court to remove his name from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts building. Beatty, a Kennedy Center board member, objected to renaming it to include President Donald Trump by arguing that such a change would require an act of Congress “[b]ecause Congress named the center by statute.”
Workers involved in the removal of the lettering, which was ordered last month by Obama appointee Judge Christopher Cooper, are accused of moving slowly, causing critics to wonder if they were told to do so in order to create delays and give the administration more time to fight the ruling.
The motion slams Trump’s reported plan to close the center for two years as a “plan to turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk by refusing to take any steps to maintain the Center’s operations,” that “will effectively close the Center as a performing arts venue come July 5, 2026—contrary to the Court’s preliminary injunction order.”
She also questioned whether the administration is planning to comply with the removal order.
“Plaintiff brings to the Court’s attention two pertinent developments regarding the Court’s summary judgment order, which raise serious concerns regarding compliance with that order as well,” the motion reads. “Starting over the weekend, Plaintiff repeatedly requested clarity from Defendants on these developments, to no avail. Plaintiff also specifically requested that Defendants provide information as to these developments in this status report. Instead, to date, Defendants have refused to provide any explanation whatsoever, despite Plaintiff stressing the seriousness of the matter and despite Defendants speaking to the press as described below. Given Defendants’ refusal to respond, and the gravity of Plaintiff’s concerns (which are compounded by Defendants’ deliberate non-compliance with the preliminary injunction order), Plaintiff requests the Court order them to explain their actions in a sworn declaration.”
The tarp, which blocks Trump’s name from being visible on the front of the building, is not acceptable not Beatty’s lawyers.
“This latest development is a transparent effort to frustrate a return to the status quo that existed prior to the Board’s unlawful vote to rename the Kennedy Center on December 18, 2025,” the motion argues.
“Indeed, it appears that the tarp will be there for the long term,” it continues, pointing out that the workers “fashioned two doorways in the structure to permit pedestrian access underneath the structure, and the entire assemblage appears to be semi-permanent.” They also noted that it “largely obscures John F. Kennedy’s name on the front portico.”
