UMVA has learned that a federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump's name stripped from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the iconic venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress, declaring the Board of Trustees had overstepped its statutory limits by unilaterally attaching Trump’s name to the building.
The decision mandates the immediate removal of all signage bearing Trump’s name and the erasure of any reference to a “Trump‑Kennedy Center” from official materials.
Cooper emphasized that the Kennedy Center’s founding statute explicitly names it after President John F. Kennedy, and only Congress holds the power to alter that designation.
The lawsuit was brought by Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who serves ex officio on the board and hailed the ruling as a triumph for the rule of law.
Beatty warned that attempts to rename and close the Center lack any legal foundation, insisting the institution belongs to the American people, not to any individual’s vanity.
Trump’s name had been added to the venue last December after the board voted unanimously, a move that followed his election as chairman in early 2025 and the removal of 18 trustees appointed by the previous administration.
While the judge denied a separate request to block a two‑year rehabilitation closure, both legal battles are expected to continue, with appeals likely on the horizon.
