A federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center from placing President Donald Trump’s name on its building or grounds Tuesday, rejecting the Trump-controlled board’s latest attempt to work around an earlier ruling reversing its renaming of the performing arts institution.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the board could not add a facade inscription crediting Trump with restoring and renovating the Kennedy Center, The New York Times reported. The ruling also blocked a proposal to rename the surrounding grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” according to Reuters.
“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper wrote.
Cooper said the board’s August resolution violated federal law and his earlier order reversing the Kennedy Center’s Trump renaming, which found that only Congress could change the name of the institution created as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
The decision is the latest legal setback for Trump’s effort to overhaul the prominent Washington arts institution. After returning to office, the president removed Biden-appointed trustees, installed allies on the board and named himself chairman.
The reconstituted board voted in December to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center and added Trump’s name to its marble exterior. Cooper ruled in May that the board had exceeded its legal authority and ordered the lettering removed.
Rather than abandon the effort, the board returned in August with an inscription that would read: “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” It also proposed naming the surrounding grounds for Trump.
Cooper concluded that the revised language still amounted to a memorial, violating a federal statute that prohibits additional memorials or memorial-like plaques in the Kennedy Center’s public areas without congressional authorization.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and statutory member of the Kennedy Center board, asked Cooper to block the changes as part of her ongoing lawsuit. Beatty initially sued over the renaming and later expanded her challenge to Trump’s proposed two-year closure, arguing that the board had violated federal law and excluded her from decisions despite her status as a trustee.
Her attorneys characterized the board’s latest proposal as a “breathtaking act of defiance.”
Justice Department lawyers argued in court filings that recognizing Trump was essential to maintaining his support for the center’s renovation and financial recovery. Blocking the tribute would drive away donors and jeopardize the rehabilitation project, they contended.
Cooper did not decide whether the center could eventually add a separate inscription reading “Endowed by The Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Kennedy Center officials told the court they would not pursue that proposal unless the fund first raised $100 million.
The Kennedy Center has faced sustained upheaval since Trump’s takeover, including artist cancellations, declining attendance and the withdrawal of financial support from some donors. Its planned closure has also generated labor disputes, including an unfair labor practice charge filed by IATSE.
Kennedy Center officials are appealing Cooper’s May ruling. A federal appeals court previously declined to restore Trump’s name while the appeal proceeds but has not yet ruled on its merits.
Representatives for the Kennedy Center and Beatty did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
