A federal court rules the board’s renaming was illegal and blocks the planned two-year closure, dealing a sharp setback to the White House.
BREAKING Global Echos | May 30, 2026
A federal judge on Friday ordered that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that the board of trustees acted illegally when it voted to rename the iconic Washington venue after the sitting president. The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, also blocks the administration’s plan to close the center for two years beginning this July 4.
In a sweeping 94-page ruling, Cooper was unequivocal in his reasoning. “The Court has concluded that the Board overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump,” he wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” Kennedy Center officials have been given two weeks to remove Trump’s name from the building’s facade, all physical and digital signage, and the institution’s official materials and website.
The dispute traces back to December 2025, when the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Workers added Trump’s name to the building’s facade the very next day. The board at that point was composed largely of Trump loyalists. Earlier in 2025, the president had dismissed several longstanding board members and replaced them with allies of his own choosing. Trump was subsequently elected board chairman, and longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell was installed as interim president and executive director of the institution.
The White House had framed the renaming as recognition of Trump’s support for the center, with a spokesperson saying Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.” Critics, however, argued it was a politically motivated appropriation of a national cultural institution built as a living memorial to a slain president.
The dispute traces back to December 2025, when the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Workers added Trump’s name to the building’s facade the very next day. The board at that point was composed largely of Trump loyalists. Earlier in 2025, the president had dismissed several longstanding board members and replaced them with allies of his own choosing. Trump was subsequently elected board chairman, and longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell was installed as interim president and executive director of the institution.
The White House had framed the renaming as recognition of Trump’s support for the center, with a spokesperson saying Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.” Critics, however, argued it was a politically motivated appropriation of a national cultural institution built as a living memorial to a slain president.
The dispute traces back to December 2025, when the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Workers added Trump’s name to the building’s facade the very next day. The board at that point was composed largely of Trump loyalists. Earlier in 2025, the president had dismissed several longstanding board members and replaced them with allies of his own choosing. Trump was subsequently elected board chairman, and longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell was installed as interim president and executive director of the institution.
The White House had framed the renaming as recognition of Trump’s support for the center, with a spokesperson saying Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.” Critics, however, argued it was a politically motivated appropriation of a national cultural institution built as a living memorial to a slain president.
