A federal judge on Friday denied an appeal by the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center seeking to keep President Donald Trump's name on the venue.

Although a judge ordered the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, a legal battle continues.

The denial came hours before a court-ordered deadline to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the D.C. performing arts venue.

Dark storm clouds gather over the Kennedy Center in the hours before a federal judge’s deadline to remove U.S. President Donald Trump's name from the facade of the John

A formal stay is expected to be filed on Friday after a federal judge had earlier ruled that only Congress could change the name of the center.

The center’s board of trustees on Thursday voted to seek a stay of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s directive to take Trump’s name off the center’s exterior by Friday.

A judge cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the Kennedy Center’s exterior on Friday, denying a last-minute request from the institution’s board that would have kept the name in place.

The president's move to appeal comes after a judge ruled that Trump's name had been added to the iconic DC building illegally and must be removed.