A US judge has ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the 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 during upcoming proposed renovations.
Trump’s name must be taken off the institution’s title, its façade – as well as any other physical or digital signage – and official materials within 14 days, according to the order.
A spokesperson for the centre said it would appeal the name-change order. Trump wrote on social media that he will “be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them”.
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND’,” he said on Truth Social.
Trump announced the addition of his name to the institution, among other rebranding measures across the nation’s capital, last year.
In February 2025, he 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.
The changes, including the re-naming, were followed by cancellations by artists booked at the venue and falling ticket sales.
In February, Trump announced a two-year closure of the venue for extensive renovations that begin on 4 July – “in honour of the 250th Anniversary of our Country”.
Board member Joyce Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, and other ex-trustees challenged Trump’s changes, alleging in a lawsuit that they were stripped of their right to vote on board matters.
They later amended the lawsuit to also challenge 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.
“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.”
Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s spokeswoman, said in a statement to the BBC’s US partner CBS News: “We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognise President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”
Daravi said it will also review the judge’s decision on the renovations closure – “though the reality remains – the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges”.
She added: “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 title of the venue was to be 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 christened when it first opened in 1971 in memory of the US president who was assassinated in 1963.
“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,” Cooper, an Obama-era appointee, wrote in a 94-page opinion.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” (BBC News)
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