A federal judge on Friday ordered President Donald Trump to remove his name from the Kennedy Center, delivering a major setback to the administration-backed effort to overhaul the performing arts institution and renovate its aging facilities.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper also halted the planned closure of the center later this year—a move scheduled to enable large-scale renovations. Under the court order, Trump must eliminate his name from building signage and public spaces within two weeks.
In a 94-page decision, Judge Cooper stated that the board had “overstepped its statutory bounds” by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump. “The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,” Cooper wrote.
The judge emphasized that Congress alone holds authority over the institution’s name: “In 1964, Congress deliberately rechristened the ‘National Cultural Center’ the ‘John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.’” He further explained that “the text, structure, and evolution of the organic statute makes the institution’s name abundantly clear,” adding that Congress ensured no memorial-like dedications would appear on the center’s premises. “As stated at the outset, Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
The ruling follows Trump’s February 2025 action to replace multiple board members, after which the restructured board elected him chairman and approved both the renaming effort and a comprehensive renovation plan.
Trump responded Friday night on Truth Social by accusing courts of unfairly targeting him and announcing plans to transfer facility control to Congress through the Commerce Department: “Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND.’”
The lawsuit was filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who argued her rights as a Kennedy Center board member were unlawfully revoked after the 2025 bylaws change. According to Beatty’s court filing, board members previously maintained voting authority before the board altered “ex officio” positions to render them non-voting.
Beatty praised the ruling in an Axios statement: “The renaming effort had ‘no basis in law.’ The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity.” She added she was “proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution.”
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi confirmed the organization plans to appeal the ruling: “We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center,” she told Axios. “We will review the decision carefully, though the reality remains—the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration.”
Trump previously argued the building needed extensive repairs to water drainage systems affecting electrical rooms and parking areas, along with new theater seating and production improvements. However, Judge Cooper noted that neither the board nor external reports recommended a full facility shutdown for renovations. Instead, he stated the center could undergo phased upgrades while remaining open.
