A US judge has ordered the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the title of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, APA reports citing BBC.
The Washington DC venue cannot be renamed without congressional approval, the judge ruled on Friday, also blocking the centre's temporary closure during upcoming proposed renovations.
Trump's name must be taken off the institution's title, its façade - and any other physical or digital signage - and official materials within 14 days, according to the order.
"We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board's will to recognize President Trump's historic contributions to our nation's cultural center," centre spokesperson Roma Daravi said in a statement to the BBC's US media partner, CBS News.
Daravi said they will also review the judge's decision on the rennovations closure.
"[T]hough the reality remains - the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges," Daravi said.
"With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy."
The full title of the venue was to be The Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Under the District Judge Christopher Cooper's order, the name will revert to the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as it was christened when it first opened in 1971 in memory of the US president who was assassinated in 1963.
"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," Cooper, an Obama-era appointee, wrote in a 94-page opinion.
"Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it."
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