President Donald Trump’s name is set to reappear at the Kennedy Center, despite a federal judge ordering its removal from the Washington performing arts institution.
But this time, the center appears to be taking a different approach—one that could keep Trump’s name tied to the building without simply restoring it to its former place.
The move comes as the Kennedy Center’s board pushes to formally recognize what it describes as Trump’s extraordinary role in the institution’s survival and renovation.
And the wording of the board’s resolution raises an even bigger question about what it is actually trying to accomplish.
The board voted to add an inscription beneath the building’s main signage that would read, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” It also directed officials to pursue the change through “all legal means,” potentially setting up another confrontation with the federal judge overseeing the dispute.
“It is hereby resolved,” the board’s decision said, “that the center desires to recognize and honor President Trump’s existential and unprecedented contributions to the survival of the center by all legal means.”
The vote comes months after U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that the board could not rename the Kennedy Center after Trump. Congress officially dedicated the institution to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, and Cooper determined that only Congress could change its name. The center removed Trump’s name from its façade in June, but has continued to appeal the ruling.
Rather than directly renaming the building, the board’s latest move appears designed to recognize Trump without formally changing the institution’s name to work around Cooper’s ruling.
Readers quickly chimed in, with some questioning how Trump’s name could be making its way back into the conversation after a federal judge had already ruled against renaming the Kennedy Center.
“Jesus Christ! Come on! Please make it stop!” one person wrote.
Another questioned the board’s independence, writing, “Trump named all the officials on the board! They are loyalists.”
Others summed up the disbelief with a simple question: “Didn’t a federal judge already say no?”
As reported by the New York Times, this is not the first time Cooper has clashed with Trump and Kennedy Center’s board. The judge previously criticized the trustees’ handling of Trump’s proposed two-year closure of the Kennedy Center, saying their original decision appeared “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.” He ordered the board to take a closer look at the consequences of shutting down the main building before moving ahead.
Trump announced the planned closure back in February. He described the Kennedy Center as a “tired, broken and dilapidated” institution and said the building needed a major transformation. The board’s Thursday vote decided to move forward with closing the main building while keeping the newer Reach addition open for limited programming while renovations are underway.
The renovation plan carries a price tag of about $250 million and includes structural repairs, new marble floors and $11.8 million in acoustical upgrades. Officials also plan to relocate the center’s 3,000-pound bronze bust of Kennedy temporarily.
An outside consulting firm and construction manager JLL examined options for completing the work. They warned that keeping the main building open during a phased renovation would create additional safety and financial problems. The proposed work would address chronic leaks and outdated equipment while also updating portions of the interior. The plan includes new furniture, electronic ticketing kiosks, a coffee shop and $7 million in renovations to public restrooms. Officials are targeting summer 2028 for the reopening.
The board says it reached the closure decision after reviewing an “independent and objective analysis” of the available renovation options. It also said it remains committed to preserving arts and educational programming during the shutdown and maintaining the building’s historic character.
But the Kennedy Center has already faced significant fallout since Trump took control of its board. The center has seen audience members, employees and artists leave amid concerns that the institution has become too closely aligned with the White House. The backlash intensified after the board voted last year to change the institution’s name to the Trump-Kennedy Center and quickly installed new letters on the building.
Judge Cooper rejected that name change and ruled that Congress holds the authority to rename the institution, which paints the proposed wording of the new inscription as a dubious work-around. His decision followed a lawsuit from Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who holds an ex officio seat on the board. Beatty’s lawsuit questioned whether the proposed closure was truly about renovations or whether the center was responding to declining ticket sales and an exodus of artists.
Trump’s allies dominate the board. Its members include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump adviser Dan Scavino and Allison Lutnick, whose husband, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has also become involved in Kennedy Center matters. Howard Lutnick said Trump asked him to help ensure the board followed the court’s expectations.
“He asked me to help him make sure everything is organized,” Lutnick said, “so that when judges consider what the board is doing, that it’s done perfectly.”
The center’s executive director, Matt Floca, has defended the full closure as the most practical way to complete the renovations using the $257 million Congress allocated for the project. But another analysis found that a four-year phased renovation could cost more than twice the congressional funding available.
The latest vote leaves the Kennedy Center’s future tied to the ongoing legal battle. Judge Cooper is expected to review whether the board gathered enough information and properly considered its responsibilities before approving the closure. The center must submit its plan to him by next week.
