COURT REVERSES UNLAWFUL RENAMING AND HALTS SHUTDOWN OF KENNEDY CENTER, REAFFIRMING THE RULE OF LAW

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued a ruling reversing the unlawful renaming and halting the planned closure of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The court's ruling permanently halts the unlawful effort to rename the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump. Within 14 days, the defendants must remove all signage from the Kennedy Center that renames it for Donald Trump, must similarly fix the website to remove Trump's name, must withdraw all trademark applications for the name "Trump Kennedy Center," and must submit sworn proof of compliance to the court. The court separately enjoined defendants from winding down the Kennedy Center's programming activities and closing the Center's doors on July 5, as previously planned.

The lawsuit was brought by Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who is represented by lawyers from Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group. Rep. Beatty is an ex official member of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees by virtue of her position in Congress. After Donald Trump's handpicked Board voted to rename the storied institution in December 2025, she brought suit to halt the renaming. In February 2026, in the wake of declining ticket sales and without any warning, Donald Trump announced that the Kennedy Center would shut down, ostensibly for renovations. At that point, Congresswoman Beatty amended her lawsuit to also prevent the Center's unlawful closure.

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

"We applaud the court's decision to block Trump's attempt to unlawfully rename and close the Kennedy Center," said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and board member of Democracy Defenders Action and Nathaniel Zelinsky, senior counsel at the Washington Litigation Group. "This ruling sends an important message: the rule of law matters. This is a powerful blow against the Trump administration's corruption."

Read the ruling here(link is external).

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