US Court Orders Removal of Trump’s Name from Kennedy Center, Halts Closure Plan

A U.S. federal court has ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and temporarily blocked plans to shut down the institution for major renovations.

In a 94-page ruling issued on Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees exceeded its legal authority by unilaterally renaming the institution after Trump. The judge ruled that only Congress has the authority to alter the center’s official name.

Judge Cooper noted that Congress formally renamed the National Cultural Center as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As a result, he said, no other body has the legal power to change the institution’s name without congressional approval.

Under the court order, Trump’s name must be removed from the building’s façade, signage, official materials, and digital references within 14 days.

Responding to the ruling, Trump criticized the decision in a lengthy post on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming that he was being treated unfairly by the courts.

He also announced that the Department of Commerce would begin arrangements to transfer control of the Kennedy Center back to Congress. Trump said he had little interest in continuing his involvement unless he was given the freedom to restore the institution physically, financially, and culturally.

According to reports by Axios and other U.S. media outlets, Trump removed several Kennedy Center board members in February 2025 and appointed close allies to the board. The newly constituted board later elected him chairman and approved both the institution’s renaming and a sweeping renovation plan.

The legal challenge was brought by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees. Beatty argued that changes to the board’s bylaws effectively deprived her of her voting rights and allowed the renaming process to proceed without proper legal authority.

Following the ruling, Beatty welcomed the court’s decision, saying it confirmed that there was no legal basis for changing the name of the Kennedy Center.

“The Kennedy Center belongs to the American people, not Donald Trump,” she said. “It is a national memorial and should not be used for personal glorification.”

Meanwhile, Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said the institution plans to appeal the ruling and remains confident that a higher court will uphold the board’s decisions.

Trump’s proposed renovation project included upgrades to the building’s drainage systems, electrical infrastructure, parking facilities, theater seating, and other technological improvements. Supporters of the plan argued that significant modernization work was necessary to address long-standing maintenance issues.

However, Judge Cooper stated in his ruling that while engineering assessments had recommended repairs and upgrades, none of the reports concluded that the entire center needed to be closed. Instead, they recommended carrying out renovations in phases while allowing the institution to remain operational. He criticized the board for relying on what he described as a “one-sided presentation” of information when approving the closure plan.

The ruling represents a significant legal setback for Trump’s efforts to reshape one of America’s most prominent cultural institutions and reaffirms congressional authority over national memorials and federally established cultural landmarks.