US President Donald Trump orders Lake Ontario renamed ‘Lake America’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America”, with the White House saying the change would take effect immediately.

Under the order, the US Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will implement the renaming, according to a White House aide.

Lake Ontario is one of North America’s five Great Lakes and lies along the US-Canada border, adjoining the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York.

The move comes amid strained relations between Washington and Ottawa. Trade talks between the United States and Canada collapsed last week, with both sides blaming each other for the breakdown of three days of intensive negotiations.

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Legal challenge over Trump’s name at Kennedy Center

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington is considering a fresh legal challenge seeking to prevent Trump’s name from being added to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper is scheduled to hear arguments in the case after the Kennedy Center board voted to modify the building’s signage and include references to Trump.

Cooper had previously ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the cultural venue, ruling in May that Congress had established the institution’s name and that only Congress could change it.

The legal dispute began after the Kennedy Center’s marble facade was altered to include Trump’s name alongside that of former US president John F. Kennedy.

The center later removed Trump’s name from the facade, while a large tarp was placed over the affected section.

The Kennedy Center board, whose members were appointed by Trump, voted on August 13 to introduce new wording identifying the venue as the “John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump”. It also proposed naming the center’s grounds the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza”.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the decision, saying the board had overwhelmingly supported the move and praising Trump’s efforts to renovate the facility.

Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who sits on the Kennedy Center board by virtue of her congressional position, has challenged the renaming in court.

The administration argues that the new wording does not violate the court’s injunction because the building would continue to carry the John F. Kennedy Center name and that the reference to Trump merely recognises his role in renovating the facility.

The administration has also cited plans for a two-year closure for renovations, arguing that Trump’s intervention is necessary to address the deteriorating condition of the centre.

The latest court proceedings add another chapter to the ongoing legal and political dispute over Trump’s efforts to attach his name to the Washington cultural institution.