judge blocks – A federal judge barred President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center and temporarily blocked plans to close the Washington, D.C., landmark for two years for renovations, ruling that only Congress can change the institution’s name under its
For the Kennedy Center, the fight over its identity isn’t taking place on the stage—it’s happening in court.
On Friday, a federal judge barred President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center, and also issued a temporary order preventing the Washington, D.C., cultural landmark from being closed for two years for renovations.
The ruling came after the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees moved in December to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy Center.” That decision landed about 10 months after Trump removed several trustees from the board and appointed himself as a trustee. The center’s facade was changed to reflect the move, and other signs around the facility were also altered.
Judge Christopher Cooper said the Kennedy Center’s “organic statute” is explicit: the center is to be named for President Kennedy. and it cannot take on any other formal name or public memorial based on the board’s unilateral action. “The 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. ” Cooper wrote in his order in U.S. District Court in Washington. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”.
Cooper’s order was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees. Beatty said her rights were cut off when the board stripped ex officio members’ voting power in May 2025.
On Friday, Cooper granted Beatty summary judgment on her request that Trump be blocked from renaming the center. He also ordered that Beatty’s trustee voting rights be restored.
In explaining why the board could not treat ex officio trustees differently. Cooper wrote that the organic statute makes no distinction between the powers of general trustees and ex officio trustees. “The Center’s organic statute makes no distinction between the powers of general and ex officio trustees,” Cooper wrote. “Nothing in the statute permits the Board to discriminate categorically between the two as to fundamental trustee rights. And stripping ex officio trustees of their voting rights runs afoul of common-law trust principles incorporated into the statute. principles which presumptively place trustees on equal footing when it comes to participating in the trust’s administration.”.
The result is a temporary reversal of the board’s direction. Trump cannot rename the Kennedy Center for now. and the planned two-year renovation closure has been paused by the court—leaving the institution in a holding pattern as the legal fight continues over who has the authority to change its public identity.
Trump Kennedy Center Christopher Cooper Joyce Beatty lawsuit renovation closure naming dispute Washington DC
So the judge said only Congress can rename it? Kinda wild.
I don’t even care about Trump’s name on buildings tbh, but it’s also like… why are they closing it for 2 years? Renovations take forever now, so guess we’re stuck with scaffolding and arguments.
Wait so Beatty sued because they removed ex officio voting? That sounds like inside baseball. Also didn’t Trump appoint himself a trustee? I feel like this is gonna end up back in court anyway.
This is why nothing gets done. One side wants to change the sign, the other side says Congress only, meanwhile people want the renovations done. I saw a clip that Trump already renamed it though so like… did the facade change for nothing? How can a judge undo a sign that’s already up lol.