President Donald Trump reacted strongly on Saturday, May 30, after a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, blocked his renovation plans for the Kennedy Center and ordered his name removed from the institution. Trump, in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, branded Judge Cooper an “anti Trump Hater” and ominously predicted that the nation’s premier performing arts center, which he had wanted to close for a two-year overhaul, would “soon be closed, probably never to open again.”

Clearly angered by this latest legal setback, Trump expressed frustration, stating it was “impossible for me to be treated fairly.” He linked Cooper’s ruling to previous legal losses, including the Supreme Court’s rejection of his sweeping tariffs in February. While his post aimed to argue for the renovation project, it did not explicitly state whether he would continue to defend it in court. Hours after the judge’s decision, Trump indicated a retreat from the renovation plans and announced arrangements to relinquish control of the center to Congress. The White House did not immediately clarify his position or confirm if he would remain the center’s board chairman.

The judge’s ruling was met with optimism by some. Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer involved in a lawsuit challenging Trump’s Kennedy Center plans, noted that artists and audience members were excited about the center “returning to non-partisan normality.” Eisen expressed optimism that with the implementation of the court’s order, including the removal of Trump’s name and board compliance with the law, the Kennedy Center could begin its “long journey back.”

Trump also launched an attack on Judge Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, without offering concrete evidence. He suggested she was partly to blame for the ruling, highlighting her background as a partner at the Hecker Fink law firm, a former federal prosecutor, and a counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration. Cooper himself was nominated to the bench by Obama. Trump further noted that Jeffress’s firm represents former President Joe Biden in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts related to Biden’s handling of classified documents. He also pointed out that Hecker Fink represented E. Jean Carroll in her successful lawsuits against him for sexual abuse and defamation.

In defense of his proposed overhaul, Trump described the Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 and is named for the late Democratic president John F. Kennedy, as “rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested,” asserting that the “new Building would have been incomparable.” However, Judge Cooper’s ruling found that the center board’s March 16 vote to close the venue was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained,” failing to consider its legal obligations. The administration had planned for work to commence in July and last approximately two years, but Cooper’s decision has temporarily halted these plans.

Furthermore, the judge concluded that the board “overstepped its statutory bounds” by adding Trump’s name to the center. Cooper emphasized that Congress originally named the Kennedy Center, and only Congress possesses the authority to change its name. He ordered Trump’s name to be removed within two weeks. Trump, in his Saturday post, maintained that it was the board, not him, that added his name, believing it “would be good for this dying Institution.” He recounted that shortly after returning to office in January 2025, he had ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board of trustees who subsequently named him chairman.

Judge Cooper’s hearings in late April addressed parallel lawsuits challenging the project. One lawsuit was filed by a group of cultural and historic preservation organizations, while the other was brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio board member. Cooper ruled in favor of Beatty’s request but rejected the challenge from the other group.