You can read the 94 page decision by Judge Christopher Cooper here.
It’s an amazing document. But it only temporarily stopped Trump on his path of destruction from renaming the Center or closing it.
The judge did say Trump could continue his renovations.
But since this was issued, Trump has surrendered, saying he won’t continue his plans while the theater is open.
There are a lot of questions. Trump says he’s turning the Kennedy Center over to the board, but they were appointed by him.
Trump also remains in charge, so he will still choose recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.
It will be up to the present staff to try and book entertainment at the last minute because Trump was shutting down right after July 4th. Everything was canceled. The Kennedy Center has no summer or fall bookings. Also, the National Opera has left the building, and the National Symphony Orchestra is on its way out.
But the success of the lawsuit brought against Trump is thanks to Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who sits on the board and doesn’t have a vote. She’s held over from the old board as ex-officio. Before the vote — which was termed “unanimous” — she spoke out publicly against Trump’s plan. He didn’t listen to her, but Judge Cooper did.
Judge Cooper wrote:
“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. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and only Congress can change it.”
As for closing, the Judge wrote:
“…the Board was derelict in discharging the full range of its responsibilities to the Center. More specifically, the Board based its decision on an insufficient, one-sided presentation of information and neglected to consider the full range of its statutory obligations and potential adverse consequences of closure on programming and memorial functions. The deficiencies in the Board’s decision-making thus “fall[] below even a forgiving standard of prudence.”
Trump wrote after this decision was published:
“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.” There has never been a President of the United States who has been treated so unfairly by the Courts as I but, that’s OK, I will continue to do, what is considered to be, a great job for the wonderful people of our Country. I have instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President”
