President Trump had proposed closing the Kennedy Center for two years starting July 4th for renovations. But Cooper blocked the closure and called for a plan to remain open by June 19.
President Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center over deadline
Donald Trump’s name has been removed from the Kennedy Center after employees followed a judge’s order to remove the president’s sign past the deadline.
WASHINGTON – A federal judge who ordered President Donald Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Center asked the government to report by June 19 on plans for the center to continue hosting public events during its renovation project.
The government has announced that the center will be closed for two years from July 4, with a cost of $250 million in renovations. But in addition to removing Trump’s name from the iconic arts center, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked the administration’s plans to “curtail” or “shut down” programming altogether.
Cooper asked for a plan for “public access and ongoing programs, activities, and operations beyond July 5, 2026.”
The legal battle marked the latest setback in President Trump’s plan to overhaul the city with projects such as a new ballroom at the White House, the Arc de Triomphe near Arlington National Cemetery and renovations to the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center’s board of directors, appointed by President Trump, voted on March 16 to close the center for two years for renovations. The board also approved placing President Trump’s name on the side of the Kennedy building.
But Mr. Cooper ruled on May 29 that the board violated the 1964 law that created the center and named it in honor of Mr. Kennedy only. Officials scoured the center’s website for Trump’s name and spent hours erecting scaffolding on June 12 to remove Trump’s name from the building. Tarps continue to cover the area where the name was.
President Trump slammed Cooper’s decision in a lengthy post on Truth Social, vowing to respond by working with Congress to “give them back this broken system so they can decide what to do about it.” The government also appealed this decision.
However, that left the center’s future uncertain. A number of performers, including Grammy and Oscar-nominated composer Philip Glass, the Washington National Opera and the Martha Graham Dance Company, canceled shows to protest President Trump’s takeover of the iconic center.
President Trump announced on February 1 that he intended to close the center for renovations.
“We have determined that the quickest way to elevate the Trump Kennedy Center to its highest level of success, beauty and grandeur is to shut down entertainment operations for approximately two years and plan a grand opening that rivals and surpasses anything ever done for such a facility,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Judge Cooper halted that proposal, at least temporarily, last month. Cooper blocked the government from enforcing “the board’s decision to ‘cure back’ programming activities and permanently ‘close’ the doors of the center from July 5, 2026.”
In his latest order, Cooper asked for a status report to “inform the court on the status of the proposed Kennedy Center construction project, the board’s actions in that regard, and other related developments.”
