Judge blocks renaming, closure of Kennedy Center

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The ruling is a stinging blow for Trump, who has made clear his personal stake in the rebranding and remodeling of the Kennedy Center.

New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP

President Donald Trump’s effort to rebrand the Kennedy Center in his own name is illegal, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the rebranding of the institution that honors President John F. Kennedy as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” violated the clear language of federal law that requires the building to honor “President Kennedy and President Kennedy alone.”