Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center

Workers have removed US President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, less than six months after it went up, complying with a judge's ruling that the performing arts landmark cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.

The work began around 1.20am local time, hours after the Department of Justice said the government would miss a court-ordered deadline to take Mr Trump's name off the Washington venue, created a half-century ago to honour John F Kennedy.

The centre's board, which Mr Trump chairs, voted in December to rename it The Donald J Trump and The John F . Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Workers began ‌affixing his name to the building the next ⁠day.

After erecting scaffolding late yesterday, workers draped tarps over the temporary structure in the predawn hours and were seen removing letters around 3.10am in an operation that took about 30 minutes.

Late yesterday, the DOJ had said in a court filing it would miss the deadline because of thunderstorms that could pose safety risks for the workers, seeking a 12-hour extension.

Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who brought the lawsuit that forced Mr Trump's name ‌to be removed, called the request to extend the two-week-old deadline "inexcusable" and part of "a pattern of non-compliance", according to the DOJ filing.

Hours before the DOJ filing, ‌a federal judge in Washington had declined the department's request to pause an order to remove Mr Trump's name.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in a ruling last month, had ordered Mr Trump's name be taken off the iconic building in Washington by Friday.

Mr Cooper said in his 29 May ruling that the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had been illegally renamed after Mr Trump and only Congress has the right to change its name.

He gave the administration 14 days to remove Mr Trump's name from the marble facade and any materials linked to the venue.

The Kennedy Center dropped Mr Trump's name from the website of the institution earlier this week.

Mr Cooper rejected a last-minute appeal yesterday by the venue's board to stay his ruling, prompting the Kennedy Center to request a 12-hour extension of the deadline to remove the signage.

The judge turned down the request, saying the public interest "is rarely served by the 'perpetuation' of 'unlawful' governmental action".

Mr Cooper has also issued a temporary block on Mr Trump's demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which was due to start in July.

President Trump reacted by saying he was giving up control of the venue, which he seized at the start of his second term last year by naming himself as chair.

Mr Trump in February announced a two-year closure of the centre for a major renovation.

He has made a broader push to reshape Washington's monumental core, including plans for 75m arch and a 8,400sq.m ballroom on the site of the East Wing of the White House, which he had demolished in October.

The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 as a memorial to Democrat president John F Kennedy, who was ⁠assassinated in 1963.

Mr Trump, a Republican, has packed its board of trustees with allies since resuming office last year.

The center's governing board, which Mr Trump stacked with loyalists, voted to rename the venue the 'Trump Kennedy Center' in December and the Republican president's full name was added to the facade in large, all-capital letters above that of Kennedy.

A number of artists canceled scheduled performances following the move.

The now-defunct US Institute of Peace was renamed after Mr Trump, and his face stares down from huge banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture.

The Trump administration is also seeking to have his image on a $250 bill to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence from Britain.