President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from leadership of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following a federal court ruling that prohibited him from retaining his name on the building.
In a recent court decision, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump could no longer maintain his name on the Washington, D.C. performing arts center. The president responded with a 580-word social media post criticizing Judge Cooper as reckless and describing the Kennedy Center as a deteriorated facility only he could restore.
Trump’s involvement with the Kennedy Center has been controversial since taking office. Construction of the building began in 1964, shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. That same year, Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation establishing the site as a “living memorial” to the slain leader.
Since beginning his second term, Trump has sought to reshape Washington, D.C. in his image, undertaking construction projects and installing banners featuring his photograph. Within weeks of his inauguration in February 2025, he replaced Democratic members of the Kennedy Center’s bipartisan board with his own appointees and removed the center’s longtime president, Deborah Rutter, installing himself as chair.
The controversy escalated in December when the board voted to rename the building the “Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Construction crews quickly added Trump’s name to the exterior. Critics condemned the move as violating the 1964 law and showing disrespect to Kennedy.
Public backlash and performer cancellations led Trump to announce in February that he would close the arts center for two years beginning in July, citing renovations. U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center trustee, sued to prevent the closure and demand removal of Trump’s name.
Inside the court’s ruling
Judge Cooper ruled that Trump’s name must be removed from the facility’s facade and all official materials within 14 days, citing the 1964 law. “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,” Cooper wrote.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” the judge added.
Cooper also overturned the Trump-led board’s decision to strip certain trustees of voting rights, noting that Congress-appointed trustees have statutory seats on the board.
The court found that Trump’s board violated its duty by ordering the center’s closure, pointing to administration officials’ public statements indicating the facility remained usable. The judge cited evidence that the center was still being promoted for upcoming events and construction plans proceeded without safety concerns cited until February.
Therefore, Cooper issued a temporary injunction blocking the closure, writing that the board had not exercised prudent judgment in ordering the shutdown.
Reactions to the ruling
Trump condemned the decision on Truth Social, vowing to transfer Kennedy Center oversight to Congress. “We are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it,” he wrote.
The president also criticized Judge Cooper as a partisan figure who treated him unfairly, echoing previous attacks on federal judges.
Beatty welcomed the ruling as a victory for the rule of law, stating: “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.”
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