The Justice Department notified a federal judge Thursday night that the Kennedy Center will delay adding President Donald Trump's name to the building until at least Oct. 8, 2026, following a two-hour hearing in which U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper urged the center to pause its plans.
The delay came as the judge considers the legality of the board's resolution to honor Trump. The central question: whether adding his name to the plaza violates a 1983 law that bars additional memorials in the center's public areas.
Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees, is fighting the honor through her attorney, Nathaniel Zelinsky. "We view this as outright defiance," Zelinsky said during the hearing, arguing the board was attempting to rename the institution after Trump told it not to do so in an earlier ruling.
"They are doing the same thing they were told they couldn't do before," Zelinsky argued, pointing to the Justice Department's own recent filing indicating the board's intent was to rename the complex after Trump.
Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers countered that there was no renaming. Mayers said the board had not taken action to rename the Kennedy Center, which will continue to stand as a memorial to John F. Kennedy. He also argued that recognizing Trump would help address the performing arts center's financial and structural problems.
Judge Cooper dismissed a dramatic claim from the Trump administration's brief suggesting the center could face demolition if the judge blocked the renovation project. Cooper called the initial pages "great atmospherics" and a "non-sequitur."
During the hearing, Cooper asked Zelinsky whether a plaza just outside the building could be considered a public area of the building under the 1983 law—a key question as he weighs the legal arguments.
The Kennedy Center board voted earlier this month to add Trump's name to the institution, reversing course after Cooper had ordered his name removed earlier this year. The board said the honor reflected Trump's role in renovating and restoring the center.
The one-month delay gives Cooper time to issue a decision on the competing legal claims.
