With the clock ticking, attorneys for the “Trump Kennedy Center” filed a last-ditch motion to halt implementation of Judge Christopher R. Cooper’s order to remove President Trump’s name from the building’s façade by June 12, 2026.

The motion was denied.

A little over four hours later, Justice Department lawyers filed an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. They asked the. Court “to rule on that request no later than 7 PM.”

In a per curiam order issued at 7:09 p.m., the Court denied the Defendants’ motion for an immediate administrative stay.

Amid chants of “Take It Down,” the construction crew built the scaffolding. The snail’s pace seemed to be by design. One worker was on the phone at midnight.

Was Charles Matthew Floca on the other end of the line? At 11:56 p.m., the Defendants filed a motion for a one-day extension of time to file the declaration certifying compliance.

The defendants were given a 12-hour extension. The workers began removing Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 13, 2026 around 3:00 a.m.

The defendants confirmed they removed signage “that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump” in the notice of compliance filed around 11:00 a.m.

It is said that history repeats itself. The first time as tragedy, the second as farce. The Kennedy Center is across from the Watergate complex which is forever associated with President Nixon’s coverup of a “third-rate burglary attempt.”

A third-rate president covered up the removal of his name from the façade of the Kennedy Center behind a tarp.

Donald L. Trump’s name was removed one day before his 80th birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. President.