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 3.10 a.m. 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.

The centre 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.

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 ‌said he would not lift the order while a federal appeals court considers his ruling that only Congress could rename the venue.

The administration appealed that order to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which also rejected the government's request for a pause yesterday.

Judge Cooper ruled on 29 May that only Congress could rename the arts centre. His order had required Mr Trump's name to be removed from the ⁠building's facade, its website and other materials.

In urging the appeals court to pause the order, the DOJ said: "It does not make sense to alter the centre's name and signage now, only to potentially revert the name again after what should be a successful appeal."

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.