A federal appeals court for a second time said it would not quickly intervene to reverse a judge’s order that removed President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center.
The new order from the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s arguments that taking his name off the building would dampen fundraising efforts for the performing arts institution.
The defendants in the case “failed to support this assertion with any specific facts or evidence,” the circuit court said. “They offer only the conclusory assertions of the Kennedy Center’s Executive Director that were made in a factually unsupported declaration.”
Trump had also argued that the Kennedy Center’s bylaws would require it to return contributions that it had brought in unless his name was put back on its facade. The appeals court noted the defendants never made that claim when the case was before the district court. The lawsuit was brought by Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat and an ex-officio trustee.
Circuit Judges Patricia Millet and Robert Wilkins — both appointees of former President Barack Obama — were on the panel considering the emergency appeal as well as Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee known for being aligned with some of the conservative justices on the US Supreme Court. There were no dissents from the new order.
