Trump criticises ruling, says he will transfer responsibility for institution’s operation and management to Congress
A federal judge has ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to remove President Donald Trump’s name from its building and branding and temporarily halt plans to close the venue for two years, dealing a significant setback to the institution’s renovation plans.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on Friday that Congress had established the Kennedy Center’s name and that only Congress could authorise any change to it. The ruling requires the removal of Trump’s name within two weeks.
The judge also granted in part a request from Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, for a preliminary injunction blocking steps towards the planned closure. Cooper found that Beatty had demonstrated that a two-year closure could cause irreparable harm, although he left open the possibility that the board could reconsider the decision after conducting an independent review of its obligations.
Beatty welcomed the ruling, saying efforts to rename and close the institution had no legal basis. She argued that the Kennedy Center belonged to the American public rather than any individual political figure.
The Kennedy Center said it was confident the decision would be overturned on appeal. Roma Daravi, the institution’s vice-president of public relations, said the board remained committed to pursuing renovation plans backed by funding approved by Congress.
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President Trump criticised the ruling on social media, describing it as misguided. He argued that the building must close for renovations to be carried out safely and suggested he could withdraw from involvement with the project if courts continued to limit his authority.
Trump also said he would seek to transfer responsibility for the institution’s operation and management to Congress and the Department of Commerce, although federal law assigns management responsibilities to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees.
The decision stems from one of two lawsuits challenging actions taken by the Kennedy Center under Trump’s leadership. Beatty sued after trustees voted to rename the institution and later expanded her case to challenge the closure plans. Cooper also ruled unlawful a bylaw change that removed voting rights from ex officio board members such as Beatty.
In a separate case, a coalition of preservation organisations argued that the renovation project should undergo federal historic preservation reviews before work begins. Cooper rejected their request for a similar injunction, ruling that the Kennedy Center was not subject to the same requirements that apply to federal agencies. However, he indicated that further proceedings could still alter that conclusion.
The preservation groups had argued that changes already made to the building, including repainting exterior columns and adding Trump’s name to the façade, had affected historic features without proper review. Government lawyers countered that Congress had effectively authorised the renovation through previously approved funding and that no demolition was planned.
Court filings and testimony have highlighted competing views of the building’s condition. Kennedy Center executive director Matt Floca described serious maintenance problems, including structural, electrical and plumbing concerns, and argued that remaining open during construction would be unsafe. Opponents of the closure pointed to earlier planning documents that envisaged repairs being completed while performances continued.
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The legal dispute comes amid wider upheaval at the Kennedy Center since Trump became board chair in February 2025. Several productions have withdrawn from the venue, ticket sales and subscriptions have fallen, staff reductions have taken place, and employees have sought union representation.
The ruling leaves the institution’s immediate future uncertain, with plans for closure paused and questions remaining over how renovation work and future programming will proceed.
