Obama judge issues Trump stinging blow as he orders name STRIPPED from Kennedy Center

By NIKKI SCHWAB, CHIEF CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT Published: 20:32, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 20:59, 29 May 2026 A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has banned President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center.  US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Friday that the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center Board's decision to add the President's name to the performing arts center was unlawful.  Trump was sued by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, who has standing in the case because she serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, as a member of Congress.  '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,' Cooper wrote.  'Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,' he added.  Cooper also ruled that Trump could not close the center for two years for renovations.  The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  Beatty's office didn't return a call.   Workers added President Donald Trump's name to the facade of the Kennedy Center in December  In December, Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the performing arts center 'The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.'  A day later, workers were seen adding new lettering to the building's historic mid-century facade.    That prompted outcry from members of the public and from the Kennedy family, as the arts center was intended to be a functioning memorial to President John F Kennedy.  Congress had dedicated the planned arts center to JFK in 1964, the year following the Democratic President's assassination.     Trump had put the center under the control of Ric Grenell, who was the President's acting Director of National Intelligence during his first term, and was also serving as a special envoy while in the Kennedy Center post.  Attendance sagged, however, with some artists staging boycotts and others scrubbed from the schedule for being too 'woke.'  In February, Trump announced that the 'Trump Kennedy Center' would close for two years so the building could be renovated.  And in March, the President announced Grenell would be stepping down.  The Kennedy Center was set to close on July 5, a day after the country's 250th birthday.    The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.