WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump slammed the federal judge who blocked his planned renovation of the Kennedy Center in a scathing post on Truth Social, labeling Jason Cooper a “former anti‑Trump hater.” Trump predicted the city’s premier performing‑arts venue would “soon shut for a two‑year overhaul, probably never to open again.”
In a long‑form rant, Trump criticised U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s Friday decision ordering him to remove the former president’s name from the center’s title. He accused the board of being “ill‑informed” and denied his own involvement in the naming. The judge had ruled that the center board’s March 16 vote to close the venue was pre‑ordained and violated Cooper’s bill. The ruling also cancelled the two‑year renovation that had been slated to begin in July.
The blocked project was spearheaded by Trump after he returned to office in January, when he ousted the Kennedy Center’s previous leadership and replaced them with a hand‑picked board that appointed him chairman. The board’s plan — a $317‑million overhaul covering technical upgrades and a new “building” to carry the former president’s name— was met with public disapproval and legal challenge.
Cooper said the board’s addition of Trump’s name to the campus violated statutory license: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” He ordered the removal of the former leader’s name within two weeks.
Trump’s post also hinted that Jefferson‑Fink partner Amy Jeffress—employee of a law firm that has represented former President Joe Biden in a lawsuit against the DOJ—may have had influence over the judge. He described the judge’s decision as “an anti‑Trump Hater.” The statement does not reference any evidence, but criticizes the judge’s wife, an ex‑federal prosecutor and former adviser to Attorney General Eric Holder.
While the news story remains under review, a judge’s ruling had opened a new chapter in a story that had already been complicated: the previous Supreme Court decision in February that knocked out Trump’s sweeping tariffs and a new lawsuit filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty and a coalition of preservation groups. Cooper heard these parallel cases in late April and ruled against the cultural and historic preservation consortium but in favor of Beatty’s challenge. The decision marks a turning point for the Kennedy Center, perhaps temporarily halting the president’s political ambition to leave a legacy there.
Trump said he was “backing away” from the renovations after the judge’s
result, though no official statement came from the White House clarifying whether he will keep serving as the center’s board chairman. The president left the project open for a return to Congress once he
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The story underlines how the Kennedy Center’s state of affairs has become a modern trope for larger intersections between politics, the judiciary and cultural property, and illustrates how a performer’s agenda may clash with federal governance during a period of partisan polarity.
In a long‑form rant, Trump criticised U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s Friday decision ordering him to remove the former president’s name from the center’s title. He accused the board of being “ill‑informed” and denied his own involvement in the naming. The judge had ruled that the center board’s March 16 vote to close the venue was pre‑ordained and violated Cooper’s bill. The ruling also cancelled the two‑year renovation that had been slated to begin in July.
The blocked project was spearheaded by Trump after he returned to office in January, when he ousted the Kennedy Center’s previous leadership and replaced them with a hand‑picked board that appointed him chairman. The board’s plan — a $317‑million overhaul covering technical upgrades and a new “building” to carry the former president’s name— was met with public disapproval and legal challenge.
Cooper said the board’s addition of Trump’s name to the campus violated statutory license: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” He ordered the removal of the former leader’s name within two weeks.
Trump’s post also hinted that Jefferson‑Fink partner Amy Jeffress—employee of a law firm that has represented former President Joe Biden in a lawsuit against the DOJ—may have had influence over the judge. He described the judge’s decision as “an anti‑Trump Hater.” The statement does not reference any evidence, but criticizes the judge’s wife, an ex‑federal prosecutor and former adviser to Attorney General Eric Holder.
While the news story remains under review, a judge’s ruling had opened a new chapter in a story that had already been complicated: the previous Supreme Court decision in February that knocked out Trump’s sweeping tariffs and a new lawsuit filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty and a coalition of preservation groups. Cooper heard these parallel cases in late April and ruled against the cultural and historic preservation consortium but in favor of Beatty’s challenge. The decision marks a turning point for the Kennedy Center, perhaps temporarily halting the president’s political ambition to leave a legacy there.
Trump said he was “backing away” from the renovations after the judge’s
result, though no official statement came from the White House clarifying whether he will keep serving as the center’s board chairman. The president left the project open for a return to Congress once he
---
The story underlines how the Kennedy Center’s state of affairs has become a modern trope for larger intersections between politics, the judiciary and cultural property, and illustrates how a performer’s agenda may clash with federal governance during a period of partisan polarity.
