Judge blocks Kennedy Center board from putting Trump's name on building

Sep 15, 2026 - 20:10

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A federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center on Tuesday from returning President Donald Trump s name to the iconic performing arts venue in a move meant to recognize his renovation efforts, saying it would violate an earlier ruling that his name was illegally added to the building.

Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that, Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congresss blessing.

The Trump-aligned board at the Kennedy Center voted in August to inscribe the presidents name on the venues facade so it would read The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.

If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added reading: Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.

The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would have also been renamed in Trumps honor, as part of the boards vote.

Cooper ruled in May that only Congress can approve changes to the Kennedy Centers name. In an emergency hearing on the matter in August, the administration argued it was no longer attempting to rename the building and that the vote was simply a recognition of Trumps effort to secure money for much needed renovations.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose wife sits on the Kennedy Center board, compared the move to the way hospitals and colleges recognize high-dollar donors.

But a lawyer for U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, argued the changes amounted to deja vu and violated Coopers earlier ruling.

The law is extremely clear: The John F. Kennedy Center is named for President Kennedy and no one else," Beatty said in a statement Tuesday. "But President Trump is holding the Kennedy Center hostage unless he can put his name on this sacred memorial. The Court just rejected this proposal for the second time. This unlawfulness is as breathtaking as it is wrong, and it needs to stop.