US federal judge blocks Kennedy Center board’s effort to restore Trump’s name to building

Washington: A US federal judge on Tuesday (local time) blocked an effort by the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to restore US President Donald Trump’s name to the building’s exterior, arguing that such a move would violate his previous order barring the board from renaming the center after Trump.

“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Christopher Cooper said.

Last December the board voted to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” a decision that drew widespread criticism from the public and political leaders. A number of prominent artists canceled performances at the Kennedy Center, Xinhua news agency reported.

On May 29, Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center board had exceeded its statutory authority by adding Trump’s name to the center, and violated a law passed by Congress in 1964 that made it clear the institution was to be named for former President John F. Kennedy.

On August 13, the center’s Trump-allied board voted to inscribe Trump’s name on the building, despite the judge previously ruled it unlawful. The board decided to inscribe Trump’s name on the building beneath the main signage, with an inscription of “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” according to a report by The New York Times.

On Tuesday, the center’s board voted to immediately shutter the performing arts center, citing the institution’s “dire” financial situation and “unsafe” structure of the main building.

Trump commented on the issue on social media on Tuesday.

“The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the US Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” the US president said.

IANS