Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Kennedy Center board Trump chairs voted to put his name on the building, and a judge enjoined it
The board voted on August 13, 2026 to close the main building for about 2 years and add Trump’s name, after a federal judge had ruled that only Congress may rename the center.
What happened
On August 13, 2026, the Kennedy Center board, which Trump chairs, voted to close the main building for about 2 years and to inscribe “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” beneath the center’s name. It also voted to rename the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
Judge Christopher Cooper had already ruled on May 29 that only Congress may rename the center. On September 15 he enjoined the inscription and the renaming as violations of his permanent injunction. The Justice Department appealed to the D.C. Circuit.
The board voted the same day, September 15, to close the building immediately, and it shut on September 16. The closure it had planned for about 2 years began a day after the ruling. On September 17, Cooper required 30 days’ notice before any major physical change to the building.
Who benefited
Trump’s name was set to go on a national cultural institution that Congress named. The board he chairs voted for the inscription and the plaza naming. The judge’s order stopped both, and the closure went ahead anyway, putting the building out of public use while the appeal runs.
Who wanted something
Trump, as chair, wanted his name on the center and on its grounds. The board’s vote came after a ruling that the naming belongs to Congress. The inscription would have read “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” crediting him with a renovation that had not yet begun.
Who lost out
The audiences and artists who use the Kennedy Center’s main building lost it on September 16. The board’s own plan was a closure of roughly 2 years, and it moved the closing up to the day after the ruling. Judge Cooper’s 30-day notice requirement is the only advance warning the public has of major physical changes.
Why it matters
A court order that barred the naming did not stop the board from closing the building the next day. Cooper enjoined the inscription and renaming on September 15, and the board voted that day to shut the doors. The judge then added a 30-day notice rule on September 17. The name is blocked for now; the closure is not.
Sources U.S. District Court for D.C. (primary)ReutersPBS NewsHour / APLaw&Crime