US judge questions the push to add Trump’s name back to the Kennedy Center

Opponents of restoring former U.S. President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts urged a federal judge on Thursday to halt the plan, arguing it constituted defiance of the judge's previous orders. In May, Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Trump's name removed from the center's facade, but the Republican president's chosen Kennedy Center board voted to reinstate it this month.

If granted, the board's proposal would include the words "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" below the president's name and rename the surrounding plaza after him. Government attorneys argued the addition would not constitute a renaming but rather acknowledge Trump's renovation efforts. Trump's name was first added in December as part of his plan to transform Washington, D.C., and was removed in June by Cooper's order.

However, the site where it was taken down is still covered by a white tarp and scaffolding. Cooper has also temporarily blocked Trump's request to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which were scheduled to begin in July. Critics of Trump's plans claim attendance at the center has plummeted since his takeover, and many artists refuse to perform there.

The administration warns that the Kennedy Center may face demolition if courts block the president's renovation efforts. At Thursday's hearing, lawyer Nathaniel Zelinsky for the opponents accused the administration of "open defiance" of the court and "massive bad faith." The judge did not issue a ruling at the end of the hearing, and it remained unclear when one might come.

Since his second term began, Trump has sought to add his name and image to various locations across the nation's capital and the wider U.S.