President Donald Trump says he has “no interest” in continuing his overhaul of the Kennedy Center after a federal judge ruled that he cannot rename the historic performing arts venue after himself or shut it down for years without congressional approval.
The remarkable admission came Friday evening after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Trump’s name removed from the building and blocked plans to close the center for a lengthy renovation project.
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else,” Trump wrote on social media, “I have no interest in continuing.”
The ruling marks a stunning setback for Trump’s effort to transform the Kennedy Center.
Last year, Trump appointed numerous individuals to the center’s board and later announced that trustees had voted unanimously to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy Center.” New signage bearing Trump’s name quickly appeared on the building, while official materials and the center’s website were altered to reflect the change.
But Judge Cooper ruled that the move violated federal law.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote.
The Kennedy Center was established by Congress in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. The judge found that neither Trump nor the board possessed the authority to erase Kennedy’s name and replace it with Trump’s.
Cooper was equally critical of the board’s decision to close the center for what Trump described as a two-year renovation project.
According to the ruling, trustees failed to properly evaluate how a prolonged shutdown would affect the center’s legal obligations and public mission. Cooper described the decision as “ill-informed” and “seemingly preordained.”
The lawsuit challenging the changes was brought by Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves on the Kennedy Center’s board as an ex-officio member.
“Today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law,” Beatty said. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.”
Rather than vow to appeal or continue fighting, Trump signaled that he may simply walk away from the project altogether.
In his post, Trump blamed “Radical Left Democrats” for opposing his plans and suggested Congress should now determine the institution’s future.
For supporters, the renovation effort represented a long-overdue attempt to reform a struggling cultural institution.
For critics, Friday’s ruling reinforced a simpler principle: a memorial dedicated to John F. Kennedy cannot be renamed after Donald Trump merely because Donald Trump wants it to be.
