Judge Rules Trump Name Must Stay Off Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump's name must stay off the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., a federal judge ruled on 15 September 2026.
The decision rejects the latest attempt to put his name on the building. It keeps the performing arts organisation under its existing name while the legal fight continues.
The venue in the U.S. capital presents theatre, concerts, opera and dance, and its name appears on tickets, broadcasts and the building itself. That public presence is why the naming dispute matters beyond court papers.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper held that the centre's leadership cannot install a memorial for Trump, or for anyone or anything else, without approval from Congress, the U.S. legislature that created the centre. The New York Times reported the ruling as a block on any such memorial without that vote, a point also noted by CBS News. The name stays off.
The order grants partial summary judgment, a decision made on legal papers without a full trial, to Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio who challenged the renaming. She argued that only lawmakers could approve such an addition. Judge Cooper had already found in May that adding Trump's name was unlawful, as reported by Courthouse News. That earlier finding forms the backbone of the dispute.
A U.S. appeals court had already preserved the status quo during the appeal. On 8 July it ruled that Trump's name must remain off the building while the case moved forward, according to Reuters. That order stopped any change before a final decision. The judges left that shield in place until they decide the full appeal.
The September ruling answers a renewed push to restore the name. At a hearing in late August, Judge Cooper questioned why centre officials were moving so quickly to put Trump's name back up, PBS reported. Axios described the 15 September decision as the court's response to that effort, a point also covered by ARTnews.
For fans, this means the argument stays in court. Programmes, tickets and the facade continue under the Kennedy Center name while judges work through the case. Nothing changes for listings this season.
The centre remains a national memorial organisation established by Congress. Under the judge's reading, only Congress can authorise a change to how it is named. That keeps naming power with lawmakers rather than with the centre's board.
