The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge on May 29 ordered the Kennedy Center to remove Donald Trump’s name from its signage and official materials within 14 days and put the planned renovation shutdown on hold for now.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said the center’s governing board went too far when it tried to attach Trump’s name to the institution without Congress. In the order and accompanying opinion, Cooper said the Kennedy Center’s name is fixed by statute and cannot be changed by the board on its own. He also directed changes to physical and digital references tied to the attempted renaming.

Cooper separately rejected the board’s plan to close the center for a two-year construction project on the current record, saying the shutdown could not proceed while the case is being litigated. The order does not end renovations altogether, but it prevents the closure from moving forward unless the defendants win further relief.

After the ruling, Trump said he was backing away from the renovation plan and making arrangements to relinquish control to Congress. The case now leaves two things in place for the moment: the Kennedy Center keeps its name, and the closure plan remains on pause.