A federal district judge on May 29 ordered that President Donald Trump's name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and blocked officials from shuttering the venue for two years for renovations.
Washington-based Judge Christopher R. Cooper issued an order temporarily halting the closure and preventing the name change.
"Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," the judge said.
The new ruling came in response to litigation initiated in December 2025 by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) who sued Trump and the Kennedy Center board of trustees over its renaming as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Beatty is an ex officio member of the center's board of trustees.
Days before, the Kennedy Center board had unanimously voted to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center. That same day, new lettering was installed on the outside of the building along with digital rebranding.
Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
From The Epoch Times