A federal appeals court has declined to reinstate Donald Trump's name to the Kennedy Center while the institution's board pursues a broader appeal. A three-judge panel on Wednesday denied a stay of a lower court order that had forced the removal of Trump's name from the Washington arts complex, including from its facade, meaning the tarp currently covering the lettering will remain in place for now. The ruling keeps intact a district court decision that the board lacked the authority to rename an institution that Congress designated as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964.

Justice Department lawyers had argued that a stay was needed to protect the centre from "financial ruin", claiming that many donors would only contribute millions of dollars if Trump's name appeared on the building, and that a new entity, the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, would have to return funds without it. The judges rejected this, saying the board offered only "conclusory assertions" from its executive director with no supporting evidence, and that the fundraising argument had never been raised in the district court. The dispute stems from a December board vote to add Trump's name, which was challenged in a lawsuit by ex officio member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH); the appeals court has yet to consider the wider arguments, and a separate appeal over a planned post-4 July closure for renovations remains pending, with the board due to meet later this month.