A judge on Friday ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that the iconic Washington venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington directed the Trump administration to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and to eliminate any references to a “Trump Kennedy Center” from official materials within 14 days.
The facade of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, renamed The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, by the Trump administration, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2026. REUTERS“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,” Cooper wrote.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
Cooper ruled in a lawsuit brought by Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
