PoliticsDonald Trump Fights to Keep His Name on Kennedy Center After Court Loss
The Justice Department appealed the Kennedy Center ruling.
June 16 2026, Published 7:51 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump’s name may be coming down from the Kennedy Center, but not without one more legal fight.
The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal less than a day before a court-ordered deadline to remove Trump’s name from the famed performing arts center, challenging a ruling that found the attempted rebrand illegal and blocked plans to close the institution for lengthy renovations.
The Name Fight Isn’t Over
Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Donald Trump’s name removed from the arts center.
In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Trump administration to remove references to the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” and “Trump Kennedy Center” from the building, grounds and website.
Trump’s name has already been removed from the Kennedy Center’s website and YouTube page, but it remained on the building itself as the deadline approached. Justice Department lawyers also filed a motion to stay the order, seeking to block the physical removal while the appeal plays out.
The legal fight stems from Trump’s December announcement that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees, which he now chairs and filled with his own appointees, had voted unanimously to rename the building. Workers added signage with his name shortly after.
The Judge Blocks the Rebrand
Rep. Joyce Beatty brought the lawsuit over the Kennedy Center’s name.
In his ruling, Cooper wrote, “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”
Congress created the cultural institution by federal statute in 1964, designating it as a living memorial after President John F. Kennedy’s death. The lawsuit was brought by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.
Cooper also criticized the board’s decision to close the center for two years starting in July for major renovations, calling it “ill-informed” and “seemingly preordained.” His opinion said the board relied on an “insufficient, one-sided presentation of information.”
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Donald Trump Pushes Back
Donald Trump criticized the decision on social media.
Trump attacked the ruling on social media and appeared to back away from his planned renovation.
“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," Trump wrote, saying he wanted to turn decision-making over to Congress.
Artist cancelations followed Donald Trump’s involvement at the Kennedy Center.
He added, “Unfortunately, Judge Cooper and the Radical Left would rather see it DIE than have President Trump transform it into something that everyone could be proud of.”
Trump’s involvement in the Kennedy Center has coincided with declining ticket sales, artist cancelations and the departure of the National Symphony Orchestra’s executive director.
