President Donald Trump’s name is set to be removed from the facade of the iconic Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, restoring an American treasure to its rightful condition. The office for the center’s general counsel circulated a memo to staffers on Thursday, ordering them to remove Trump’s name after a judge ruled against the administration late last week.

The Kennedy Center was named to honor former President John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. The center was meant to be a living memorial to one of the most fondly remembered American leaders, and was defaced by Trump this past December.

The counsel’s memo explained: “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.’ Other changes, such as to templates and forms, signage, brochures, and website pages, must be completed no later than Friday, June 12, 2026.”

Last Friday, the removal of Trump’s name was ordered after a federal judge determined that the decision to add his name was in violation of law. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said in his ruling that the center was named as an act of Congress, and that only Congress—not Trump and a board of trustees packed by his cronies—can change the name.

Trump responded with a whining social media post on Friday, stating that his administration would “make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management.”

Trump’s attempted takeover of the center was unpopular with the public. In a February YouGov poll, 64 percent of Americans opposed his renaming of the center. Only 16 percent supported it.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos