The board of Washington's Kennedy Center, which is chaired by Donald Trump and stacked with administration allies, has voted to restore the president's name to the complex in three separate places, months after a federal judge ordered his name removed from the building's facade. The move reignites a legal dispute over whether the Trump-controlled board can unilaterally rename an institution that Congress designated exclusively as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, and comes as the centre also plans to close for two years of renovations.

Under the resolution, filed in federal court, the facade would read "The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts", followed by "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump", with a further line reading "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund" to be added once an associated endowment reaches $100 million. The grounds of the complex would also be renamed "President Donald J. Trump Plaza". This follows a December vote to rename the centre outright, which Democratic congresswoman Joyce Beatty successfully challenged in court, forcing removal of Trump's name from the facade in May; her lawyers now argue the board's new wording is an attempt to defy that ruling.