Washington: Workers began removing the name of U.S. President Donald Trump from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts building in Washington, D.C., in the early hours of Saturday morning. This action was taken in compliance with a court order stating that the historic and performing arts landmark cannot change its name without congressional authorization.
According to Thai News Agency, the removal of the letters took about 30 minutes and was completed around 3:10 a.m. local time, after the U.S. Department of Justice attempted to request an extension citing a thunderstorm but was denied.
The lawsuit arose after the Kennedy Center's Executive Committee, chaired by President Trump, voted last December to rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center." This led to a lawsuit filed by Democratic Representative Joyce Beattie of Ohio. On May 29th, District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the right to rename the national memorial belongs solely to Congress, and ordered the removal of Trump's name from the building, website, and all promotional materials within a specified timeframe.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, is currently undergoing a major two-year renovation announced by President Trump in February. This is part of a large-scale landscape and infrastructure improvement plan in the heart of Washington, D.C.