Key Points

• A federal judge has barred President Donald Trump from renaming the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
• The judge ordered Trump's name removed from the center's facade and signage within two weeks.
• The board was temporarily blocked from closing the center for two years of renovations as requested by Trump.
• The judge emphasized that only Congress can alter the Kennedy Center's name.
• Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who sued over the renaming, expressed pride in fighting for the rule of law and protecting the institution.
• Trump criticized the judge's ruling but appeared resigned to the removal of his name.

A federal judge has issued a ruling that prevents President Donald Trump from affixing his name to the renowned Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The decision, handed down on Friday, explicitly states that "Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it." Judge Christopher Cooper mandated that Trump's name be removed from the center's exterior and other signage within a two-week timeframe.

Furthermore, Cooper temporarily halted the performing arts landmark's planned two-year closure for renovations, a move initiated at the request of President Trump, who chairs the institution's Board of Trustees. The center had been renamed the "Trump Kennedy Center" in December.

This judicial intervention came in response to a lawsuit filed by U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center. Beatty's civil complaint challenged the renaming, the proposed closure for renovations, and her own removal from voting rights by the board in May 2025.

In his ruling, Judge Cooper indicated that the Kennedy Center's board had not adequately balanced its obligations to the institution when deciding to close for renovations. However, he noted that the board might still proceed with the closure for renovations if it demonstrates a prudent and balanced approach to its various duties toward the Center.

The judge also clarified that his preliminary injunction would not impede the Center's planned capital repair work.

Following the ruling, President Trump publicly criticized Judge Cooper but seemed to accept the decision regarding the removal of his name. Trump stated on Truth Social his intention to work with Congress to transfer the institution back to them. "Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself!" he wrote, adding, "I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight."

The board's decision to rename the center occurred ten months after Trump removed several trustees and appointed himself as a trustee. The center's facade and other signage were subsequently updated to reflect the name change.

Judge Cooper explicitly stated, "Representative Beatty is entitled to summary judgment on the renaming issue." He further elaborated, "The Kennedy Center's organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President [John] Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board's unilateral say-so." He reiterated, "Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it."

In addition to the renaming issue, Cooper ordered that Representative Beatty's voting rights as an ex officio trustee be reinstated. He stated, "The Center's organic statute makes no distinction between the powers of general and ex officio trustees." He concluded that stripping ex officio trustees of their voting rights contradicts common-law trust principles embedded in the statute, which generally presume equal footing for trustees in administering the trust.

Representative Beatty hailed the ruling, stating, "Today's ruling rightly affirms that this administration's efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law." She added, "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. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution."

Attorneys for Beatty, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, commented that the ruling "sends an important message: the rule of law matters. This is a powerful blow against the Trump administration's corruption."

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice, representing Trump in the lawsuit, expressed satisfaction that the court upheld the renovation challenges and stated they would continue to defend the president's "ability to restore the Center to its former glory."