Kennedy Center's attempt to put Trump's name on building blocked again by judge
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The Kennedy Center on Sept. 2 in Washington, DC. Photo: Finn Gomez/Getty Images
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Kennedy Center's latest attempt to put President Trump's name on the performing arts center violated his earlier order blocking its renaming.
The big picture: The order came just before the Kennedy Center's board, now composed of Trump loyalists, is set to weigh shutting down the building for renovations that members argue must include Trump being "appropriately recognized" on the structure.
Driving the news: While Trump allies have argued the latest attempt to recognize Trump does not violate the law, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said "[l]inguistic gymnastics cannot extricate the Kennedy Center's Board from an operative judicial order or the governing statute it was designed to enforce."
- Cooper ordered for Trump's name to be removed from the building in May, saying only Congress could change the name of the center that memorializes President John F. Kennedy.
- The judge blocked the center from putting an inscription that read "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump" on the main building or renaming the campus the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."
- Cooper wrote, "Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."
Catch up quick: The board voted last month to again add Trump's name to the building to recognize his renovation push in an apparent attempt to circumvent Cooper's prior ruling.
- The fresh attempt wouldn't change the building's name. Rather, it would put an inscription under the Kennedy Center sign acknowledging Trump and rename the surrounding plaza after him.
Zoom in: A recent draft resolution from the board, filed in federal court by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), stated that "without such appropriate recognition" it's "unlikely" that Trump would "provide the fundamental oversight of the renovation of the main building."
- It proposed several options for "public recognitions" of the president to be placed on the exterior marble beneath the center's name.
- Cooper noted in his order, however, that "the government offered 'no proof that current or future donations hinge on President Trump's name being on the building'."
What he's saying: Trump argued in a Tuesday Truth Social post that the center "is in a virtual state of collapse" and argued the board knows he's the "only one" who can save it "because I have the ability to raise the money, and the ability to construct — that few others have."
- The board will meet today, where they could decide to shut the building down.
Go deeper: Kennedy Center could close today. This Trump ally has big ideas.
