May 16, 2026 at the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC.
Al Drago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
A federal judge on Friday barred President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center’s name, as he did in late December, saying only Congress has the power to make such changes.
Judge Christopher Cooper also temporarily blocked President Trump’s order from closing the Washington, D.C., cultural landmark for two years for renovations.
Cooper said in his ruling that the Kennedy Center’s board of directors did not balance its obligations to the center in deciding to close it for renovations.
But the judge said in a ruling in the U.S. District Court in Washington that the board could close for that purpose “after independently balancing its multiple obligations to the center in a prudent manner.”
In December, the Kennedy Center Board of Directors voted to rename the center the Trump Kennedy Center, 10 months after President Trump removed several directors from the board and appointed himself. The center’s facade was changed to reflect this decision, as were other signage around the facility.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, sued Trump to block that action and prevent the board from stripping her of her voting rights in May 2025.
“Congressman Beatty is entitled to summary judgment on the name change issue,” Cooper wrote Friday.
“The Kennedy Center statute makes clear that the center must be named for President (John) Kennedy and cannot be given any other official name or public monument based on a unilateral decision by the board,” the judge wrote.
“The Kennedy Center’s name was given by Congress, and only Congress can change its name.”
Cooper also ordered Beatty to have his voting rights restored as ex-officio trustee.
“Under the Center’s organizational statutes, there is no distinction between the powers of general and ex-officio trustees,” Cooper wrote.
“Nothing in the statute authorizes the board to categorically discriminate between trustees with respect to their fundamental rights,” the judge said.
“And depriving trustees of their voting rights ex officio violates the common law trust principles embedded in the statute, which place trustees on a presumptive equal footing when participating in the operation of the trust.”
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