Judge rules Trump's name must stay off Kennedy Center as board warns of bankruptcy

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that President Donald Trump could not place his name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, saying the board lacked permission from Congress to do so.

“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” the judge wrote, according to the New York Times.

The decision comes as the board faces bankruptcy and previously warned that it could only stave off financial ruin if it placed Trump's name on the facility to secure his financial support.

Earlier attempts to place Trump's name on the facility faced legal scrutiny and alternative proposals to feature his name failed to gain traction. 

When Trump returned to the White House, he replaced the entire board and revamped the facility's performance list. The board previously voted to name its opera house after first lady Melania Trump.

But the center has been in dire need of renovations as well, and part of the ceiling collapsed earlier this month. Trump on Tuesday warned that the building was "in a virtual state of collapse" and complained that a judge would not permit its closure for renovations.

"The Board of The Kennedy Center has strongly voted to save it, and they know I’m the only one who can do so, because I have the ability to raise the money, and the ability to construct — that few others have," he added. "I also have the strength and power of the Presidency, which will be needed do what must be done, and give it a strong shot at Greatness again!"

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.