A federal judge on Thursday questioned why the Kennedy Center was moving so quickly to return 
Donald Trump's name to its facade, while a Justice Department lawyer insisted the new inscriptions were not a renaming. Seconds after the administration's lawyer, Bradley Mayers, began his case at the nearly two-hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper interrupted to ask why inscribing the president's name had to begin as soon as Sept. 8, PBS NewsHour reported.
What is the board planning? Under the plan PBS NewsHour reported the Trump-aligned board approved earlier this month, the facade would read "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump." A second inscription would follow if the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, and the plaza in front of the building would be renamed in Trump's honor. Mayers said the Sept. 8 timeline followed the board's vote.
How does the administration defend it? The Justice Department maintained the inscriptions do not run afoul of earlier court rulings that found the change unlawful, The Hill reported. Mayers said the moves amount to a recognition of Trump, not the renaming the institution earlier sought. He also encouraged Cooper not to rule on the endowment inscription because no money has been raised.
What did the judge ask? "What's magic about that date?" Cooper asked. When Mayers returned to the energy and talent the renovations require, Cooper cut in: "What does that have to do with what Congress intended in these statutes? That's really what's before me." Cooper ruled in May that Trump's name was added to the building illegally, and he pressed a lawyer for Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member, on whether he has jurisdiction while the administration appeals that ruling. Her lawyer, Nathaniel Zelinsky, warned that failing to act "would create this black hole where there's no way to enforce" the earlier decision.
What about demolition? In a filing earlier this week, administration lawyers told the court that without recognition of the president the center would struggle to raise renovation money and might need to be demolished, PBS NewsHour reported. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who attended the hearing, seemed to downplay that possibility, telling reporters the point made was that "if you do nothing, bad things happen. But they're not going to happen on Thursday." Lutnick floated a new way to add Trump's name, telling reporters outside the hearing the center could "acknowledge President Trump" for his role in proposed renovations, The Hill reported.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
