WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday denied the Justice Department's last-minute request for a temporary pause of a court order directing that President Donald Trump's name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Earlier in the day, the Trump administration and the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center each appealed a federal district judge's ruling ordering the removal. Under the order, Trump's name must be removed from the building by Friday midnight.
By Friday afternoon, construction crews had cordoned off the section of the Kennedy Center bearing Trump's name and begun erecting scaffolding for its removal.
Patrick Nour, a performer at the Kennedy Center, told Xinhua in front of the scaffolding on Friday evening that he is happy to see that "it isn't being disgraced."
"It's a memorial. It isn't a place where you could just put your name on. It's dedicated to somebody who did something, not someone who is doing something," he said.
Shortly after returning to office for a second term in January last year, Trump replaced the Kennedy Center's leadership and appointed a new board of trustees. In December, the reconstituted board voted to rename the institution by adding Trump's name to its official title.
The move prompted a lawsuit by board member Joyce Beatty, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking to overturn the decision and remove Trump's name from the institution.
On May 29, Judge Christopher Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Kennedy Center's name could not be changed without congressional approval. He ordered that all physical signage bearing Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center within 14 days and that any references to the "Trump-Kennedy Center" be deleted from official materials.
Cooper also ordered the suspension of the center's plan to close for two years for renovations, which Trump announced in February and was scheduled to take effect in July.
The Kennedy Center, named after former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, officially opened in 1971. It is widely regarded as a national cultural center, hosting world-class performances in music, opera, theater, dance, and other arts.
The renaming controversy has already affected the center's regular cultural programming, with some musicians and performing groups announcing cancellations or withdrawals from scheduled appearances. ■