A US federal judge ruled on Friday that only Congress can alter the name of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or make renovations, rebuking the Trump administration, which had planned to close the venue for renovations and had added Trump's name to it.
"The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board's unilateral say-so," US District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote.
"Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," the judge added.
Cooper also ruled that the Kennedy Center board's vote to close the facility was "ill-informed and seemingly preordained" with no regard for its legal obligations.
The ruling was the latest legal setback for Trump's efforts to leave his personal mark on Washington's landscape and landmarks.
