• A federal judge orders Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center.
• The Kennedy Center cannot be closed for renovations without congressional approval.
• Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the board overstepped its legal authority.
• Officials must remove Trump's name and related signage within 14 days.
• Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty challenged the board's decisions in court.

A federal judge ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, confirming that such a renaming requires an act of Congress. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper determined the board of trustees acted unlawfully when they changed the name, stating, "Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," according to CBS News, Reuters, and Los Angeles Times.

Judge Cooper also blocked plans for temporarily closing the Kennedy Center for major renovations, which were slated to start in July following a unanimous board vote. He described the decision to close as “ill-informed and seemingly preordained,” and noted the board failed to consider its legal obligations fully, according to India Times and South China Morning Post.

The judge ordered all physical and digital signage referring to the "Trump Kennedy Center" to be removed within 14 days. In his 94-page opinion, Cooper affirmed that the center's original statute clearly designates it to honor President John F. Kennedy exclusively, citing concerns raised by Rep. Joyce Beatty and others regarding the legality of the name change and closure plans, according to NPR and BBC.

In response to the ruling, Roma Daravi, the vice president for public relations at the Kennedy Center, expressed confidence in an appeal, stating that the center needs "urgent and significant restoration," while noting that $257 million has been approved for renovations by Congress and secured during Trump’s presidency. The ruling, however, has raised concerns from some about how the renovations would be conducted, and they fear it would not preserve the center's historical integrity effectively, per reports from Los Angeles Times and South China Morning Post.