Federal Judge Orders Trump’s Name To Be Taken Off the Kennedy Center, Blocks It From Closing

A federal judge has ordered that President Trump’s name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and blocked plans to close the center for two years.In December, the Kenndy’s Center’s board of trustees voted unanimously to add the president’s name to the center. A day after the vote, his name was added to the building’s signage. Days later, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty sued, asking a judge to declare the vote to rename the building unlawful. On Friday, a federal district court judge, Christopher Cooper, ordered Kennedy Center employees to remove Mr. Trump’s name from the building within two weeks.“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Judge Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”He also granted Ms. Beatty’s request to block the center from closing for two years for renovations. However, he said that workers can conduct “necessary maintenance and repair work,” and suggested the center could close for renovation in a “prudent manner.”“The Court is not persuaded that the closure is categorically unwarranted or impermissible under the U.S. Code. The Court’s preliminary injunction thus does not bar the Board from reconsidering the closure issue in a prudent manner,” he said.The vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, Roma Daravi, told the Sun, “We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”Ms. Daravi also said that the board will “carefully” review Judge Cooper’s order blocking the center’s closure, but added, “The Center requires an urgent and significant restoration.”“With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place, and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,” she said. Also on Friday, Judge Cooper declined a request from preservation groups, which filed a separate lawsuit, to block the planned changes at the Kennedy Center. But he said he “encourages the defendants to consider voluntary consultation and review with relevant historic preservation and regulatory authorities,” even as he said such consultations “may not be legally required.”He added that “no one should dispute the importance of renovating the Center in a manner that befits its historic pedigree and honors President Kennedy in the most thoughtful way possible.”

Federal Judge Orders Trump’s Name To Be Taken Off the Kennedy Center, Blocks It From Closing

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