Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Kennedy Center Rename as Violation of Congressional Charter

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that President Trump's attempt to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts violated the institution's congressionally chartered status. Because Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to JFK in 1964, any official name change requires an act of Congress—not executive decree. Workers removed Trump's lettering from the marble facade on June 12, 2026, hours after the ruling.