Congresswoman ex-officio member Kennedy Center The board sued the other trustees Monday, seeking a court order that would force them to remove Donald Trump from the name of the art institution.
Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH) filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking a declaration that the arts institution's name is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and that the board's vote last week to change the name is invalid.
“Because Congress named the center by law, changing the Kennedy Center's name requires an act of Congress,” Beatty's lawsuit states. “But on December 18 and 19, 2025 – in scenes more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic – the sitting President and his elected supporters renamed this legendary center in honor of President Trump. This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order. Congress intended the Center to be a living monument to President Kennedy – and an artistic gem for all Americans, regardless of party. Until this If the court fails to intervene, defendants will continue to ignore Congress and violate the law for improper purposes.”
The Trump-controlled board of directors voted to rename the center on Thursday. The next day, workers added Trump's name to the complex's façade so it reads, “Donald Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
lawsuit named Trump, who is the chairman of the Kennedy Center and also its president, Rick Grenelland board members, as well as the institution itself. Other ex officio members also named include Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The complaint alleged, among other things, a violation of the trustees' duties under federal law and a violation of the plaintiff's rights under federal law.
Beatty is also seeking an ordinance that would require “any physical or digital signage intended to
rename the Kennedy Center after defendant Trump, including the sign on the building.
front portico and website.”
The center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Beatty's lawsuit.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation designating the National Cultural Center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. After the Trump-controlled board voted, Democrats and members of the Kennedy family quickly alleged dishonesty.
The lawsuit calls the board vote a “sham.”
“The conduct of the Council meeting itself established that the meeting was a sham orchestrated by Defendant Trump and his supporters as a pretext to achieve a predetermined outcome,” Beatty’s lawsuit said. “There was no advance notice on the agenda that the Council would be considering a name change. The meeting was held at the home of Andrea Wynn, the wife of a casino magnate and Republican donor whom Defendant Trump had appointed to the Council. At the end of the meeting, Defendant Trump's supporters suddenly announced that they had news they wanted to share: The Kennedy Center would now be renamed in honor of Donald Trump.”
According to the lawsuit, Beatty attended the board meeting but was not allowed to voice her concerns because she had to be muted. A Kennedy Center spokesman later said that ex officio members do not have voting rights, which is enshrined in the center's bylaws.
But Beatty's lawsuit argued that “the law makes no distinction between ex officio trustees and general trustees, and the former have the same rights and responsibilities as the latter.”
Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the center, defended the board's right to change the name. “This action follows the precedent of the State Department adding President Trump's name to the Institute of Peace, and the previous administration renamed military bases,” she said in a statement last week. However, the effort to strip military bases of Confederate names was authorized by an act of Congress in 2021, which critics of the Kennedy Center's renaming say is necessary.
The lawsuit also alleged that “the proposed name change would cause financial and operational harm to this already struggling institution by alienating ticket holders, sponsors and artists.” The lawsuit notes that after changing her name, musician Christy Lee announced that she was canceling her performance on January 14, 2026. “Upon information and belief, ticket holders have canceled their tickets in protest of Defendants' unlawful actions and have sought refunds. This trend is reasonably expected to continue, resulting in financial and reputational damage,” the lawsuit states.
Beatty is represented by Norman Eisen, founder of Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zielinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group.
