Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center a “really important moment for this country,” hailing it as a win for “democracy and the rule of law.”
Garcia made these comments during his Saturday afternoon appearance on MS NOW, after workers stripped Trump's name from the Kennedy Center's façade early Saturday, hours past a court-ordered deadline the Department of Justice had sought to extend due to weather conditions.
DOJ Confirms Compliance After Court Fight
A federal appeals panel denied a last-minute administration bid to halt the deadline. District Judge Christopher Cooper had ruled in May that renaming required congressional approval, since the center's name is set by law and blocked a planned two-year closure.
The DOJ confirmed in filings that all Trump-related signage had been removed, though a tarp covered the building through the evening.
November Renaming Sparked Backlash
Trump's handpicked board voted in November 2025 to rename the institution “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” drawing widespread criticism from Democratic lawmakers, arts community members and prominent figures within the Kennedy family.
The decision also prompted several artistic partners to sever ties with the Kennedy Center, triggering a wave of show cancellations and performer withdrawals.
Last week, a D.C. court separately dismissed the Kennedy Center's $1 million breach-of-contract suit against jazz drummer Chuck Redd, who canceled a 2025 holiday performance to protest the Trump renaming.
