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[iNews24 Reporter Minji Kim] A U.S. federal court has ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (the Kennedy Center) to remove President Donald Trump’s name and to halt a planned two-year facility closure set to begin in July. The injunction effectively stalls the remodeling and rebranding initiative championed by the Trump administration.
On May 30 (local time), U.S. media reported that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued a preliminary injunction blocking parts of the Kennedy Center board’s proposed name change and its extended-closure plan.
In his opinion, Judge Cooper said that Congress conferred the Kennedy Center’s name and that only Congress has the authority to alter it.
Under the court order, the Kennedy Center must remove President Trump’s name from the building’s exterior and from all branding within two weeks.
The ruling is likely to upend the center’s operational plans. Management had already begun staff reductions and revised performance schedules in anticipation of a prolonged closure; the injunction now requires the facility to remain open.
The plaintiff is Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board. She filed suit after the board last year moved to rename the institution the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” alleging that the board’s process suppressed opposing viewpoints.
Judge Cooper also found unlawful the board’s amendment that limited the voting rights of ex officio directors.
Beatty praised the ruling in a statement, saying, “The Kennedy Center belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump personally,” and called the decision “a defense of the rule of law and our national cultural heritage.”
The Kennedy Center said it will appeal the decision.
Roma Darabi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president for external relations, said, “We are confident that an appeals court will respect the board’s judgment to recognize President Trump’s contributions to the arts.”
President Trump reacted strongly.
On social media he denounced the judge who issued the injunction, saying the judge “should be ashamed,” and signaled he would step back from the center’s operations if the courts continued to block the project.
“If I cannot restore the institution in the way I know best, I will no longer be involved,” he said, adding that he would seek to have Congress and the Commerce Department assume responsibility for the center’s operation and maintenance.
This legal fight overlaps with a separate lawsuit related to the Kennedy Center’s renovation.
Historic preservation groups argued the center altered the building’s exterior and proceeded with construction without completing the required federal cultural-asset review, but the court declined to grant an injunction on that claim.
Since President Trump became chair of the board in 2025, the Kennedy Center has faced cancellations, reduced sponsorships, and staff cuts. Touring productions of the Broadway musical Hamilton and performances by the Washington National Opera were pulled, and some employees have sought to unionize and publicly criticized management, international outlets reported.
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