Washington DC - Opponents of a plan to restore President Donald Trump's name to the Kennedy Center urged a federal judge on Thursday to block the move, calling it "open defiance" of his previous rulings.

Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Trump's name removed from the facade of the performing arts center in May, but the Republican president's handpicked Kennedy Center board voted this month to restore it.

Under the board's proposal, the words "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" would feature beneath the slain president's name, and the surrounding site in Washington would be renamed the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."

Government lawyers argued at a hearing before Cooper on Thursday that the phrasing would not constitute a renaming but rather recognition of Trump's efforts to renovate the building honoring President John F. Kennedy.

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Trump's name was first added to the facade of the building in December as part of his drive to remake the city in his image. It was removed in June on the orders of Cooper, but the area where it was taken down remains covered by a white tarpaulin and scaffolding.

Cooper has also issued a temporary block on Trump's demand to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations, which were due to start in July.

Since Trump's takeover of the city's most storied cultural venue, attendance has dropped dramatically, and many artists refuse to perform there. The closure plan is seen by Trump critics as a face-saving gesture by the administration.

The administration warned this week that the Kennedy Center may have to be demolished if courts block the president's plans to overhaul the complex.

Nathaniel Zelinsky, a lawyer for opponents of Trump's renovation plans, accused the administration at Thursday's hearing of "open defiance" of the court and "massive bad faith."

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Zelinsky denounced what he described as a threat to demolish the center if Trump does not get his way.

"What a nice Kennedy Center you have here. What a shame should something happen to it," Zelinsky said.

The judge did not issue a ruling at the end of Thursday's hearing, and it was not immediately clear when it might come.

Since taking office for a second time, Trump has sought to put his name and face on the nation's capital and beyond, from buildings to passports and even currency.