Trump's name must be removed from Kennedy Center, judge orders

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling the Trump administration's rebranding of the iconic institution is illegal.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, in a opinion issued May 29, said the Kennedy Center must remove Trump's name from the institution's title within 14 days. That includes taking down the recently installed signage on the center's facade and stripping Trump's name from the center's website other official materials.

Cooper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, also overturned Trump's planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center that was set to begin in July to accommodate massive renovations to the building.

In a 94-page opinion, the judge said the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, made up of primarily Trump loyalists, violated the 1964 federal law that created the center, arguing the statute makes clear "the Kennedy Center must be named for, and is meant to honor, President Kennedy alone."

Congressional approval would be required to change the name from the Kennedy Center, the judge said.

Trump says he will transfer control of center to Congress

The ruling ‒ a major blow to Trump's efforts to overhaul the institution to his liking ‒ granted partial summary judgment in a case brought by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy's Center board of trustees who opposed the name change.

"The Court does not purport to dictate how the Center should be run, nor does it prescribe any particular plan for the institution—construction, closure, or otherwise—moving forward. It simply holds the Kennedy Center Board to certain minimum requirements imposed by law," the opinion reads.

Trump blasted the judge's decision in a lengthy post on Truth Social, vowing to respond by working with Congress "to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it." Trump said he's instructed the Commerce Department to carry out the transfer to Congress.

"Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself!" Trump said. "I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight. 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 center's board voted in December to rename the Kennedy Center the "Trump-Kennedy Center." In less than 24 hours, the action was followed with new signage on the building's exterior that reads "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."

Trump has complained about "woke" programming at the Kennedy Center, promising to bring in better shows and musical acts while securing $257 million in federal dollars for renovations he said are badly needed.

Judge says board wasn't adequately informed to close center

In blocking plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years, Cooper questioned the credibility of Executive Director Matt Floca's conclusion that renovations couldn't be carried out without shutting down the center for the pubic.

The judge also said the center's board "lacked any meaningful say" in the matter when it voted for the closure on March 16. Trump already announced the closure plans on Truth Social on Feb. 1.

"Trustees learned about the plan to close the Center at the same time as the general public, by social media post," the judge said. "Deprived of time and information, they had no meaningful opportunity to consider perhaps the most momentous decision in the Center’s lifetime since it opened in 1971."

Trump administration expected to appeal decision

Despite Trump's pledge to shift control of the center to Congress, spokeswoman for the Kennedy Center said the board plans to appeal the judge's decision.

“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," Roma Daravi, the center's vice president of operations, said in a statement.

Daravi did not say whether the center will take down Trump's name from the center's facade.

As for the judge blocking the center's two-year closure, Daravi said the center will "review the decision carefully, though the reaity remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration."

A Justice Department spokesperson also signaled plans to appeal. "We will continue to defend President Trump’s ability to restore the Center to its former glory as the finest performing arts center in the country – if not the world.”

Democrats and Kennedy family members cheered the judge's decision, with some noting the ruling fell on the late president's birthday. Kennedy was born May 29, 1917.

"An appropriate birthday present on my uncle's birthday today," Maria Shriver, a niece of Kennedy, said in a post on X. "I know they'll probably appeal and the story isn't over, but for today let’s celebrate a great birthday gift."

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.