A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from returning President Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center in any form on Tuesday.
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Christopher Cooper, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said.
This follows a monthlong fight over changing the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which the administration and the center’s Trump-appointed board have argued would honor the president’s investment in refurbishing the space.
Trump swiftly condemned Cooper’s ruling, arguing that the building is “destined to doom.”
“The Kennedy Center was losing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars when I took over,” Trump said in post on Truth Social. “It had nothing to do with me, I am only there to help. I just got there to reveal the facts, but especially those concerning Building Safety.”
He also described Cooper as a “very hostile and conflicted Judge.”
In August, the board voted to add the inscription “Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” below the Kennedy Center sign. They also voted to rename the patio outside the center as “the President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
Kennedy Center board member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) sued after Trump changed the center’s name “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
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<p> ” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all.webp” alt=”Visitors walk at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” class=”wp-image-4727837″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all-1.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all-1.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all-1.webp?resize=768,512 768w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all-1.webp?resize=150,100 150w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/judge-bars-kennedy-center-board-from-putting-trumps-name-on-building-at-all-1.webp?resize=696,464 696w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”><figcaption class=)
Visitors walk at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Cooper ruled in May that Trump could not change the building’s name without congressional approval, blocking the Kennedy Center’s board unanimous vote to add Trump’s name to the center in December 2025.
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Shortly after Cooper’s ruling, Trump’s name was removed from the performing arts center.
The board also voted in August to close the center for two years for renovations. Cooper previously blocked the theater’s planned two-year closure for extensive renovations in his May ruling.
