Kennedy Center Creates Trump Fund After Court Orders Name Removed From Building
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 15
Kennedy Center Creates Trump Fund After Court Orders Name Removed From Building
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 15
Summary
The Kennedy Center board voted unanimously Thursday to create a new endowment in President Donald Trump's name after removing his name from the building over the weekend.
The fund is meant to recognize Trump's contributions and support the center's existing private endowments and $257 million in federal funding, with a source saying it may target the building's physical disrepair.
The move follows a D.C. district judge's ruling less than two weeks ago that the board acted unlawfully by adding Trump's name and planning a two-year closure and renovation, requiring the name's removal by June 12.
Board members also backed Friday's emergency appeal to pause that ruling, but the administration's stay request was rejected; lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty, who sued over the change, called it an '11th hour gambit.'
Trump remains chairman of the board, and the center says it will stay a living memorial to John F. Kennedy even as the naming fight shifts from the building to fundraising.