WASHINGTON: A judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on Friday, ruling that the iconic Washington venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.

Judge Christopher Cooper directed the Trump administration to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and to eliminate any reference to a “Trump Kennedy Center” from official material within 14 days.

“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.”

In another verdict, a judge blocks White House from launching a package that opponents deride as ‘slush fund’

The judge added: “The court does not purport to dictate how the Center should be run, nor does it prescribe any particular plan for the institution’s constr­uction, closure, or otherwise moving forward.”

Cooper ruled in a lawsuit brought by Ohio Democratic Represen­tative Joyce Beatty, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board.

‘Slush fund’

In yet another adverse verdict for the president, a federal judge temporarily blocked the White House from moving ahead with a $1.8 billion compensation package that critics have denounced as a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump’s political allies.

Judge Leonie Brinkema barred the administration from taking any further action to create or operate the fund while she considers whether to impose a longer-lasting pause.

Her order blocks the transfer of money into the fund, the consideration of claims and the disbursement of any payments.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026