Trump Loses Kennedy Center Name Battle; Judge Says Congress Holds the Power

President Donald Trump’s bid to permanently rename the Kennedy Center after himself hit a legal roadblock on Friday when Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that only Congress has the authority to change the iconic Washington, D.C. institution’s name. The decision strips Trump’s name from what was briefly called“The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”following a December 2025 decision by the center’s 36-member Board of Trustees to add his name.

Trump wasted no time firing back through Truth Social, characterizing the ruling as political persecution and slamming what he called“radical left”opposition to his plans. He claimed the judge, appointed by former President Barack Hussein Obama, was blocking necessary renovations that Trump said would transform the aging facility into“the Finest Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World.”The president also took issue with Judge Cooper’s temporary halt on the planned two-year closure that would allow the extensive restoration work Trump proposed.

The legal reality is straightforward: Congress, not the Kennedy Center’s board, holds the keys to any permanent name change for a federally designated institution. Judge Cooper explained that while the board can reconvene to discuss closure plans more carefully, the authority to rename the building rests exclusively with lawmakers. Trump signaled he’s now considering transferring the failing institution back to Congress’s purview entirely, telling the Department of Commerce to make arrangements for a complete handoff of operations and management.

On the opposite side of the equation, Maria Shriver—JFK’s niece—celebrated the ruling as a birthday gift to her late uncle, who would have turned 109 on May 29. Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center’s leadership, represented by vice president of public relations Roma Daravi, said the center remains“confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will”and noted that the center has already secured 257 million dollars in funding approved by Congress for restoration work. The battle isn’t over, but for now, the Kennedy name stays put.