Judge Orders Removal of Trump’s Name from Kennedy Center
A US judge has mandated the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the official title of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The Washington DC venue cannot be renamed without congressional approval, the judge ruled on Friday, also blocking the centre's temporary closure planned for upcoming renovations.
According to the court order, Trump's name must be removed from the institution's title, its façade, any other physical or digital signage, and official materials within 14 days.
Trump announced the addition of his name to the institution last year, as part of broader rebranding efforts across the nation's capital. A spokesperson for the centre stated they intend to appeal the name-change order.
"We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board's will to recognize President Trump's historic contributions to our nation's cultural center," centre spokesperson Roma Daravi said in a statement to the BBC's US media partner, CBS News.
Daravi also indicated that the centre would review the judge's decision regarding the renovation closure.
"[T]hough the reality remains - the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges," Daravi said.
"With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy."
The full intended title of the venue was The Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Under District Judge Christopher Cooper's order, the name will revert to the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as it was originally named when it opened in 1971 in memory of the US president assassinated in 1963.
Judge Cooper, an Obama-era appointee, wrote in a 94-page opinion:
"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."
In February 2025, Trump replaced several trustees on the centre's board and appointed himself as a trustee before being voted in as the arts centre's chairman.
In December, the board decided to rename the institution, and new lettering bearing Trump's full name was affixed to the centre's front portico the following day.
These changes, including the renaming, were followed by cancellations from artists booked at the venue and a decline in ticket sales.
In February, Trump announced a two-year closure of the venue for extensive renovations scheduled to begin on 4 July 2026, "in honour of the 250th Anniversary of our Country."
Board member Joyce Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, along with other former trustees, challenged Trump's changes through a lawsuit alleging they were stripped of their right to vote on board matters.
The plaintiffs later amended the lawsuit to also contest the plans to close the venue for repairs.
"Today's ruling rightly affirms that this administration's efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law," Beatty said in a statement to the BBC.
"The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution."
