Judge orders Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center

A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The Washington venue cannot be renamed without congressional approval, the judge ruled on Friday. The order also blocks the center's temporary closure during proposed renovations.

Trump's name must be taken off the institution's title, its façade and any other physical or digital signage and official materials within 14 days.

A spokesperson for the center said the institution would appeal the name-change order. Trump posted on social media that he will "be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them."

"Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into 'NEVER NEVER LAND,'" he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump last year announced the addition of his name to the institution, among other rebranding measures across the nation's capital. In February 2025, he replaced several trustees on the center's board and appointed himself as a trustee before being voted in as chairman.

In December, the board decided to rename the institution. New lettering bearing Trump's full name was affixed to the center's front portico the next day. The changes were followed by cancellations by artists booked at the venue and falling ticket sales.

In February, Trump announced a two-year closure of the venue for extensive renovations that begin 4 July 2026 "in honour of the 250th Anniversary of our Country."

Board member Joyce Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, and other former trustees challenged Trump's changes. They alleged in a lawsuit that they were stripped of their right to vote on board matters.

"Today's ruling rightly affirms that this administration's efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law," Beatty said in a statement.

"The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution."

Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said in a statement: "We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board's will to recognize President Trump's historic contributions to our nation's cultural center, though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration — a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges."

"With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy," Daravi said.

The full title of the venue was to be The Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Under District Judge Christopher Cooper's order, the name will revert to the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as it was when the center opened in 1971 in memory of the president assassinated in 1963.