Chicago – May 29, 2026
A U.S. federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and blocked the administration from closing the venue for planned renovations.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued a 94-page opinion ruling in favor of Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center trustee who sued over the name change and two-year closure plan. The judge found the board “overstepped its authority” by unilaterally renaming the institution after Trump in late December.
“Congress bestowed the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress possesses the authority to alter it,” Cooper wrote, emphasizing the organic statute clearly designates the center for President John F. Kennedy alone. The court ordered all signage bearing Trump’s name removed within 14 days from the façade, digital platforms, and official materials.
The ruling also provisionally halts the planned two-year closure starting this summer, which sparked widespread backlash and performance cancellations after the renaming. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump,” Beatty said.
