World·UpdatedWorkers began removing U.S. President Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue's operations.Scaffolding erected Friday around section of the building that includes Trump's nameThe Associated Press · Posted: Jun 12, 2026 8:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 16 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Workers prepare scaffolding ahead of removing lettering from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, following a federal judge’s order to remove U.S. President Donald Trump's name, in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)Workers began removing U.S. President Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue's operations.Scaffolding was erected on Friday around a section of the building that includes Trump's name, but shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon ET on Saturday because of thunderstorms that had swept through the Washington area, causing a delay.In the filing, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts offered assurance that the "removal work is presently ongoing" and would "conclude in the early hours of the morning."A few hours later, workers began covering the scaffolding with tarps before they eventually started taking down Trump's name.Dozens of people spent hours Friday on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of "take it down."LISTEN | Architect slams Trump's planned closing, renovations of Kennedy Center:As It Happens6:23Trump’s Kennedy Center renovations are an ‘absurd’ cover-up, says architect First, U.S. President Donald Trump added his own name to the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., which caused a series of performers to cancel their appearances at the prestigious venue in protest. Now, Trump says he’s closing it for two-year long renovations, alleging the building is “in very bad shape.” Steven Holl, the architect who designed the venue’s 2019 expansion, told As It Happens host Nil Kökal that’s simply not true.Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza.Earlier Friday afternoon, a judge rejected a request to pause the court-ordered deadline. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office.Just a month into his second term, he ousted the centre's previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building. A man holds a sign outside the Kennedy Center in Washington on Friday. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal on Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort."The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below," according to the appeal. "Indeed, total collapse!"Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center's Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" or "Kennedy Center."The Kennedy Center's website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump's name.