Judge doubts Kennedy Center's plan to add Trump name

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper expressed doubt on Thursday about the Kennedy Center board’s plan to inscribe President Donald Trump’s name on the performing-arts venue’s façade as early as Sept. 8. Cooper asked why the specific date was required, noting that the timing seemed arbitrary.

Trump-aligned board members had voted earlier in the month to add the wording “Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” to the center’s exterior and to rename the front plaza after him. The administration’s lawyer, Brantley Mayers, said the schedule reflected the board’s vote and argued the inscription would recognize Trump rather than rename the institution.

Cooper reminded the court that his earlier May ruling found the name addition illegal and ordered its removal. He questioned whether he had jurisdiction to block the new proposals while the administration appeals that decision.

"I want to make sure I have the jurisdiction to do whatever I did," Cooper said.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member, has opposed the changes. Her attorney warned that failing to enforce the prior ruling would create a “black hole” with no enforcement mechanism.

"Would create this black hole where there’s no way to enforce," Beatty’s lawyer Nathaniel Zelinsky said.

The administration told the court it would not proceed with any alterations before Oct. 8, giving Cooper additional time to review the case. Lawyers also suggested that without the Trump-related recognition, the center might struggle to raise renovation funds, raising the remote possibility of demolition, a claim the Commerce Secretary downplayed.

"What was pointed out … was that if you do nothing, bad things happen. But they’re not going to happen on Thursday," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters.