US Institute of Peace and ousted board members ask court to block Trump from carving his name into the building

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — Another DC institution is fighting to stop President Donald Trump from permanently planting his name on the front of their building.

The US Institute of Peace and its ousted board members on Thursday asked a federal appeals court for emergency relief to prevent the administration from carving Trump’s name into the facade of its headquarters which was renamed for him last year.

Trump had his name bolted to the building last December — calling it the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace — after he dismantled the independent agency which works to resolve conflict and was created by Congress in 1984.

Lawyers for the agency and its former leadership said in the filing that the administration is “unsatisfied with the relative impermanence of external lettering” and now appears to have “taken steps to prepare to carve” Trump’s name onto the front of the building. The lawyers said they “understand that a formal request for the work has been made and a contractor has been selected.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

The agency’s request comes as Trump fights to put his name on another iconic building in DC, the Kennedy Center — an example the agency’s lawyers cite in their court filing.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center’s board, which Trump filled with his allies, to give 30-days notice before any demolition or new construction at the center is planned.

Trump was pictured Wednesday night reviewing a poster that appears to read, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.” The president had warned earlier in the day that the center would “end up being ripped down” without his intervention and fundraising, claiming it is in “very dangerous shape.”

In his second term, Trump has placed a particular emphasis on inscribing his name on federal buildings and renovating landmarks to his liking, which has drawn intense public backlash and numerous lawsuits.

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

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