Federal Judge Blocks Name Change and Renovation Plans for Kennedy Center

A federal judge has issued a ruling preventing President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center. Judge Christopher Cooper also temporarily halted plans to close the Washington, D.C. cultural institution for renovations for a period of two years. The Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees had voted in December to rename the center to the 'Trump Kennedy Center,' following Trump's removal of several trustees and his appointment as a trustee. In his ruling, Cooper stated, 'The Kennedy Center's organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board's unilateral say-so.' He emphasized that only Congress has the authority to change the name of the Kennedy Center. This ruling followed a lawsuit filed against Trump by Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees, who had her voting rights removed by the board in May 2025.