Judge Orders Removal of Trump's Name from Kennedy Center

A federal judge ruled that the Kennedy Center board acted unlawfully by voting to add President Trump’s name to the venue and by approving a two-year closure for renovations. The ruling found that Congress named the Kennedy Center by statute and that the center’s organic statute requires it to be named for President Kennedy, preventing any other formal name or public memorial based on the board’s unilateral decision. The judge also criticized the board’s approval process for the closure, including improperly removing a board member’s voting rights during a March meeting. The judge blocked the shutdown for now while noting that repairs are needed and leaving open the possibility of revisiting a closure after a more thorough review.

"Cooper agreed in the 94-page decision that Congress named the center by statute, and that changing the Kennedy Center’s name requires an act of Congress. 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. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it, Cooper agreed in the 94-page decision."

"The board voted to rename the venue The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a change that was implemented on the venue website within hours before work began adding Trump's name to the facade of the building. Cooper also sharply criticized the board's approval of a planned closure following this summer's July 4 celebrations and found that the board improperly stripped Beatty of voting rights during a March meeting where the closure plan was approved."

"While Cooper blocked the shutdown for now, he acknowledged that repair work is sorely needed and left open the possibility that the board could revisit a closure after conducting a more thorough review. The ruling sided with Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), a member of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees, who challenged both the name change and a proposed two-year closure beginning this summer."

"Her lawsuit, filed last December, argued that because Congress named the center by statute, changing the Kennedy Center's name requires an act of Congress. 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."

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