Federal judge blocks Kennedy Center renovation, orders removal of Donald Trump's name

In a major blow to the Trump administration, a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center from shutting temporarily to undergo a lengthy renovation process and ruled that the board violated the law when it added Donald Trump's name to the venue. U.S. District Judge Casey Cooper ruled that the established law stated 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 also ruled that Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress could change it, according to CNN. The judge ordered officials to remove any signage from the iconic performing arts venue that bore Trump's name within two weeks. This includes the removal of names such as "Trump Kennedy Center" or the "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" from its website.

The venue would be permanently barred from "displaying, installing, or maintaining any physical or digital signage on the Kennedy Center building or grounds that designates, suggests, or implies that the institution is named for any person other than President John F. Kennedy." On the matter of renovation, the Barack Obama-appointed judge noted that it may still go ahead, which would require it to shut down temporarily. However, he said that the board had to consider the impact such a move could have, considering statutory obligations. 

"There is no evidence that the Board took account of its full range of statutory obligations in determining that a wholesale shuttering of the Kennedy Center was appropriate," he wrote in his ruling. "In short, there is no evidence before the Court that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees considered how it would accomplish its full legislative mandate during the closure period." While the ruling may be a blow to President Trump, Democrats have come out in support of it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders hailed the judgment, stating that the performing arts venue was built to honor only one President: John F. Kennedy. "America deserves a president, not a narcissist-in-chief who treats public office as a vehicle for self-promotion and personal enrichment," he wrote in a post on X. Rep. Jerry Nadler commended the ruling as well, claiming that it was "yet another blow to Donald Trump’s ego."

The ruling comes on the birthday of President Kennedy, whose niece, Maria Shriver, was also supportive of the ruling. "An appropriate birthday present on my uncle's birthday today. A federal judge ruled that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board acted unlawfully in renaming the Kennedy Center. The judge held that only Congress can change the Center's name and blocked the planned two-year closure. I know they'll probably appeal and the story isn't over, but for today, let's celebrate a great birthday gift," she wrote on X.