Judge blocks – A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and halted the administration from closing the performing arts venue for major renovations.
Washington was already bracing for a major shutdown when a federal judge stepped in on Friday—saying the Kennedy Center board’s decision to close the building was not only flawed, but tied to an illegal move.
The ruling stopped the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations. The case turned on what the judge described as a board action that exceeded its authority and a closure vote made without proper attention to the legal obligations the trustees were bound to follow.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center. He also blocked the March 16 vote to close the facility. characterizing it as “ill-informed and seemingly preordained” and saying it showed “no regard” for the board’s legal obligations.
In his order, Cooper wrote that “The trustees might have assessed the propriety of closure in a number of prudent ways. This was not one.”
Cooper further concluded that the board “overstepped its statutory bounds” by unilaterally adding Trump’s name to the center. Congress, he said, gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.
The decision came after Cooper held hearings in late April for parallel lawsuits challenging the project. One lawsuit was filed by a group of cultural and historic preservation organizations. The other was brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board.
Cooper ruled in favor of Beatty’s request but rejected the other challenge.
Kennedy Center Christopher Cooper Trump name board vote renovations Joyce Beatty Congress federal judge Washington D.C.