Judge Orders Trump Name Removed From Kennedy Center

A federal judge has ruled Donald Trump’s name must be removed from  the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Thank god.

The judge wrote in his 94-page ruling that it was “crystal clear” that the arts complex was named for the late president John F. Kennedy. He also ruled that the center could not wind down its programming and close for two years of renovations – at least for now n.pr/4uIQCD8

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— NPR (@npr.org) May 29, 2026 at 1:50 PM

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his 94-page ruling:

“The Kennedy 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.

“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

That legal point was raised last year when Team Trump began their mission to rename the Kennedy Center.

The judge also temporarily blocked plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations.

Trump and the center’s current voting board members – all of whom were hand-picked by the Donald, who also became chairman of the center last year – had planned to start the renovations in early July, just after the 250th anniversary celebrations.

But Judge Cooper called the renovation plans “murky,” writing in his ruling, “None of the board members had sufficient information in advance of the March 16 meeting to make a well-considered decision to close the center.”

Today’s ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed in March by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board whose voting rights there were stripped last year.

Responding to the ruling, Trump crashed out in a rant on his failing Truth Social platform.