Trump's name ordered removed from Kennedy Center
· RTE.ieA US judge has ordered the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that the iconic Washington venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington directed the Trump administration to take down all physical signage bearing Mr Trump’s name and to eliminate any references to a "Trump Kennedy Center" from official materials within 14 days.
"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," Mr Cooper wrote.
"Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it."
Mr Cooper ruled in a lawsuit brought by Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty.
The Kennedy Center was established by Congress as "a living memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy".
Since its opening in 1971, it has remained a complex public-private enterprise that is both a part of the federal government and a tax-exempt nonprofit.
The centre was built with a and long-term revenue bonds held by the Treasury Department.
Its ongoing operations have always been funded by a mix of public money, private contributions and earned revenue from ticket sales, events, food service, parking and the like.
Mr Trump announced on 1 February that he would shut down the centre for two years.
He said this closure would begin on 4 July and was necessary for "Construction, Revitalization and Complete Rebuilding."
The next day, he denied that this meant he would demolish the facility altogether.
The multi-venue arts centre has endured cancellations by performing artists and boycotts by patrons throughout the first year of Mr Trump's second term, during which he made himself chairman of its board.
The US president handpicked board members then voted to rebrand the centre to include his name.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.