The Trump Kennedy Center is no more.

On Friday, May 29, 2026 a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center from temporarily closing its doors for a years long renovation and said its board violated the law when it added President Donald Trump’s name to the performing arts building.

According to CNN, US District Judge Casey Cooper noted that the law establishing the Center “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.”

The judge added, “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

The judge also noted that the Center must remove any signage from the Kennedy Center that includes Donald J. Trump’s name and update its website.

The news comes months after the Trump installed board decided to rename the Kennedy Center. Back in December, Spokeswoman Roma Daravi said in a statement, “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts… The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction. The new Trump Kennedy Center reflects the unequivocal bipartisan support for America’s cultural center for generations to come.”

The renaming sparked an outcry with the Kennedy family denouncing the move and numerous performers canceling and the Washington National Opera leaving the institution outright.