Kennedy Center delays Trump name addition until at least Oct. 8
What's next: A federal judge is weighing whether the board's tribute violates a 1983 ban on additional memorials in public areas.
The Kennedy Center will not add President Donald Trump's name to its facade or plaza before Oct. 8, the Justice Department told a federal judge Thursday night. The filing came after a two-hour hearing in Washington, where U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper pressed both sides on whether the board's recent vote to honor Trump amounts to an unlawful renaming of the center or an added memorial barred by a 1983 law. Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member, challenged the move through attorney Nathaniel Zelinsky, who called it defiance of an earlier ruling. Justice Department lawyer Brantley Mayers argued the center would remain a memorial to John F. Kennedy and said the board had not taken action to rename it.