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A recent ruling by a judge has confirmed that changing the name of the Kennedy Center requires congressional approval. The decision clarifies that any attempt to rename the iconic venue cannot proceed without consent from Congress.
Judge Cooper explicitly stated in his ruling, “May the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts be renamed absent Congressional authorization? The answer, plain from the face of the statute, is no.”
In addition to this, the judge has also barred the Trump administration from proceeding with plans to close the center for renovations.
Back in December, a board of trustees, appointed by the president, had voted to rename the institution as The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, sparking the recent legal challenge.
In December the board of trustees appointed by the president voted to rename it The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts.
Trump had fired the previous board and appointed himself chairman.
The Centre has been given 14 days to take Trump’s name off all signage.
“Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself!” he wrote.
Trump then announced he was not going to be involved in renovations of the building, even though he described it as “structurally dangerous”.
“I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight.Â
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND.’”
Trump said he had directed his staff to transfer control of the Kennedy Centre to Congress.
Democrats have celebrated the judge’s decision.
“Trump tried to slap his name on the Kennedy Centre like it was one of his tacky hotels,” Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said.
“The Kennedy Centre belongs to the American people. Now and always.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Trump Administration set aside close to $A7 million to have four prominent statues in Washington DC coated in gold.
“This comes from the same administration that said we don’t have enough money for cancer research or to feed hungry kids,” Democratic Representative Dwight Evans said.
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