U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper is considering whether the Kennedy Center's Trump-controlled board violated a court order by attempting to put President Trump's name back on the building's facade. The board of trustees voted earlier this month to add inscriptions recognizing the president, a move that has prompted a lawsuit seeking to block the action.
During a nearly two-hour hearing, Judge Cooper interrupted Trump administration lawyer Bradley Mayers to question why the inscriptions needed to be added as soon as September 8. This follows a previous order from the same judge that forced the removal of the president's name from the building's title.
The legal battle occurs while Department of Justice attorneys describe the Kennedy Center as fundamentally unsafe and embarrassing to the Nation's Capital. The center's board has warned that the institution may be demolished if renovation plans do not go forward.