1 of 2 | The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts appears in Washington, D.C., on Friday. A federal judge ruled that President Trump overstepped his authority by renaming the Kennedy Center after himself, ordering Trump's name to be removed and reversing a decision to close the performing arts center for renovations. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
May 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Friday said President Donald Trump's name must be removed from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in a ruling that also blocked plans to shutter the facility for two years for renovations.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper for the District of Columbia handed down the decisions halting Trump's plans to impose sweeping changes at the historic venue.
The Kennedy Center's board of trustees voted in December to add Trump's name to the building. The decision came less than a year after Trump dismissed the entire board and named new board members, who in turn elected him chairman.
"Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," Cooper wrote.
