The fight over the Kennedy Center Trump name has reached a tense final stretch, as President Donald Trump’s handpicked board scrambles to keep his name on the famed performing arts venue before a court-ordered deadline to strip it away by Friday.

A Last-Minute Legal Maneuver

On Thursday, the board voted to seek a stay of a May 29 ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who found that Trump’s name had been illegally added to the Kennedy Center. The formal request was filed late that evening, according to a person familiar with the private meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Judge Cooper’s ruling was clear: only Congress holds the authority to change the Kennedy Center’s name. He ordered all references to Trump removed by Friday and also blocked the administration from shutting the venue down for a major two-year renovation that had been slated to begin in July.

A Sudden Reversal

The board’s push to keep the name marks a striking turnaround. Just days earlier, on June 4, the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel sent staff a memo instructing that email signatures, letterhead, and official documents reflect the institution’s proper name as either “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or simply the “Kennedy Center.”

Other signs pointed in the same direction. The center’s website had already dropped the president’s name, and an email this week promoting ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award ceremony arrived under the Kennedy Center banner, with no mention of Trump.

Sharp Words From the Opposition

Critics wasted no time blasting the board’s move. Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action and Nathaniel Zelinsky of the Washington Litigation Group described the eleventh-hour effort as a sign of desperation, arguing the administration had no real legal footing. They vowed to fight the request as forcefully as they had throughout the case.

The two attorneys represent Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board who filed the lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the institution.

How Trump Took Control

Trump largely ignored the Kennedy Center during his first term, but his second term told a different story. Within a month of returning to office, he removed the center’s previous leadership and installed a handpicked board of trustees that named him chairman.

He also brought in Richard Grenell as president, a role Grenell held until March, when Matt Floca took over. Under the new direction, the center’s programming shifted toward Trump-friendly events, including the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania.”

The board went further still, renaming the facility the “Trump Kennedy Center” and physically adding the president’s name to the building’s facade, a move scholars and lawmakers insist requires congressional approval.

An Arts Community in Revolt

The backlash from the arts world was swift and forceful. A wave of artists, including actor Issa Rae, musician Bela Fleck, and author Louise Penny, withdrew from scheduled appearances. Consultants such as musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned in protest.

The departures extended to leadership as well. Earlier this month, Jean Davidson, executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, left to take the helm of the Los Angeles-based Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Doubling Down

Even as it sought the stay, the board signaled its loyalty in another way. On Thursday, it also passed a resolution praising Trump’s “commitment to uphold this cherished American institution.”

What Comes Next

With the Friday deadline looming, the dispute now rests on whether the court grants the stay or holds firm on its order. For an institution long seen as a nonpartisan home for the arts, the battle over a single name has become a flashpoint, pitting presidential influence against the limits of legal authority and leaving the Kennedy Center’s identity hanging in the balance.