The US Institute of Peace and ousted board members filed an emergency appeal asking a federal appeals court to block the administration from permanently carving President Trump’s name into the institute’s headquarters facade. Lawyers say that after the name was bolted on last December, officials now appear to be preparing for a permanent carving and have selected a contractor. The petition cites similar efforts at the Kennedy Center, where a judge ordered the board to give 30 days' notice before demolition or new construction. The move is part of a broader legal and political fight over presidential branding of public institutions.
US Institute of Peace Seeks Emergency Court Order to Block Trump From Carving His Name on Headquarters
The renamed Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, December 4, 2025. - Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The US Institute of Peace and several board members who were removed from their positions have asked a federal appeals court for emergency relief to stop the administration from permanently carving President Donald Trump's name into the facade of the institute’s Washington headquarters.
The institute — an independent agency created by Congress in 1984 to help prevent and resolve international conflicts — says the building was renamed and had Trump’s name bolted to the exterior last December. According to the institute’s lawyers, officials are now "unsatisfied with the relative impermanence of external lettering" and have "taken steps to prepare to carve" the president's name into the stonework. The filing adds that they "understand that a formal request for the work has been made and a contractor has been selected."
Ousted board members joined the filing, arguing the move would cement a politically motivated rebranding of a longstanding, congressionally established public institution. The emergency petition asks the court to block any permanent carving while litigation proceeds.
The petition also cites parallel efforts by the administration to place Trump's name on other prominent Washington sites. This week a federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center's board — reshaped by Trump appointees — to provide 30 days' notice before undertaking any demolition or new construction at the center. The filing notes that example and warns of broader consequences if executive control is used to permanently rebrand public institutions.
Earlier this week, the president was photographed reviewing a poster that appears to read "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED." He has publicly warned the center could "end up being ripped down" without his intervention and fundraising, saying it is in "very dangerous shape."
In their filing, attorneys for the institute and former leadership wrote that officials appear to be moving from temporary lettering to permanent carving and have selected a contractor to carry out the work.
The dispute is the latest in a series of lawsuits and public controversies over efforts in the president's second term to affix his name to federal buildings and landmarks. The institute's emergency request frames the issue as both a legal dispute over procedure and a wider debate about preserving the independence and nonpartisan identity of public institutions.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. This story will be updated with additional developments and responses as they become available.
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