U.S. Judge Christopher Cooper on Tuesday reiterated his previous ruling, barring the Kennedy Center from adding President Donald Trump’s name to the performing arts venue and presidential memorial. This decision comes after the judge had already ordered the removal of Trump's name more than three months prior, stating that the Board of Trustees had illegally voted to add it.
This ruling comes amidst warnings from the Kennedy Center's board that the institution faces "certain fiscal collapse within weeks" and could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts unless Trump's name is reinstated. A draft resolution circulated to the board ahead of a special meeting today stated that the center's financial health is dependent on the inclusion of Trump's name, arguing that "Trump attracts money." The draft resolution even suggested $10 options for how to add Trump’s name below the main signage.
Board member Paolo Zampolli, a longtime Trump ally, emphasized that adding the president's name was critical to the center's financial health, asserting that Trump had "offered to step in and raise the necessary funds" to save the center. The board had previously voted to add Trump's name as the person who "renovated and restored" the center and, if a fundraising goal was met, to establish the "Trump Kennedy Center Fund." Congress had already appropriated $257 million for renovations, but the board claimed Trump would raise an additional $100 million.
Despite the board's pleas, Judge Cooper's decision upheld the previous ruling that Congress needed to approve any renaming of the "Trump-Kennedy Center." The judge is also weighing whether adding Trump's name would violate a statute prohibiting additional memorials at Washington D.C.'s only memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. The center's programming has effectively ended since early July, and ticket sales had been declining for months following the board's December vote to rename the facility, which Cooper ruled unlawful in May.
The board is expected to vote today on a measure declaring the Kennedy Center's main building "unsafe for continued occupancy" and ordering its immediate closure. An email to the board from Kennedy Center official Joe LaFauci indicated that a separate draft resolution proposing ten new ways to honor Trump would not be considered at the meeting, and that the board "stands by" its earlier vote to recognize the president.
