WASHINGTON DC -- A federal judge on Friday denied a last-minute effort by the Kennedy Center to avoid pulling President Donald Trump’s name off the historic performing arts venue while its appeals play out.

Late Thursday, the center asked US District Judge Casey Cooper to pause a ruling he issued two weeks ago that said the venue acted unlawfully when it added Trump’s name to the building, its website and other promotional materials. Cooper had ordered the center to take steps to comply with his ruling by the end of Friday and the center has reversed the change in some places.

On Friday, Cooper affirmed that the Kennedy Center must comply with his decision, saying that Trump and the board “have not ‘made a strong showing that [they] are likely to succeed on the merits’ of any appeal.”

Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center board of trustees convened for a board meeting to discuss plans to appeal the ruling on Thursday.

In the afternoon meeting, the board voted to file an appeal contesting Cooper’s decision, according to a source familiar with the matter, which said that the board violated the law when it added Trump’s name to the venue. Cooper also said the center may still move ahead with renovations to the decades-old building and could later decide to close the center after its board more fully considered the impact on its statutory requirement to maintain some programming at all times.

The appeal has been filed to the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not acted on the case.

In his May 29 ruling, Cooper gave the center 14 days to remove all references to the name “Trump Kennedy Center” or the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Those efforts have begun, with the center’s general counsel imploring staff to remove the name from their email signatures last week and a change to the website logo, though the exterior signage remains in place as of Friday afternoon.

CNN has observed crews assembling scaffolding near the signage, which signaling the removal process could begin soon.

The source compared the meeting to an episode of the political satire show “Veep,” telling CNN that Trump, who dialed in to the meeting from the Oval Office via Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s iPhone, spent part of the session lambasting Cooper. Trump and Lutnick, the source added, attacked Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, who served as former President Joe Biden’s personal lawyer.

The board, full of Trump loyalists, also discussed a resolution to honor Trump that would recognize his “major contributions,” his “profound dedication,” and his “unprecedented … commitment to uphold this cherished American institution,” according to a copy of the resolution viewed by CNN.

It passed.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire
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