Trump Blasts "Barack Hussein Obama Judge" After Kennedy Center Renovation Blocked
President Donald Trump lashed out Saturday after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked the planned closure and renovation of the Kennedy Center, accusing the Obama-appointed judge of halting what Trump described as a badly needed structural and aesthetic overhaul of the performing arts venue.
In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump said millions of dollars in marble, furniture, steel, heating, air conditioning, and other materials had been ordered or were about to be ordered for what he called a "magnificent structural and aesthetic rebuilding" of the center. He argued the building had serious problems involving rust, rot, pests, failing pipes, aging HVAC systems, and structural beams that needed replacement, making it unsafe to keep audiences inside during major construction.
Trump also attacked Cooper personally, alleging a conflict of interest involving the judge's wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, and tying the Kennedy Center ruling to broader complaints about what he called a "rigged" court system. He said the decision could force the center to remain open despite safety concerns and warned that the institution may soon close "probably never to open again."
Jeffress, according to Trump, "doesn't use the 'Cooper' name" because the couple "don't want people to know that she has a Conflict of Interest with an important Judge." He described Jeffress as "a Radical Left Democrat" who "worked as a Federal Prosecutor and Counselor to Obama Attorney General, Eric Holder," "worked behind the scenes for the January 6th Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs," represented former FBI attorney Lisa Page, and is "currently representing Sleepy Joe Biden on the release of his audio tapes." Trump claimed Jeffress is "totally wired into the Left System, from her husband down," adding that "it is impossible for me to be treated fairly."
As the Epoch Times noted earlier, Donald Trump wants to transfer all operations of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to Congress after a federal judge blocked a two-year closure of the venue for renovations.
"The Kennedy Center, which was going to close in early July for largescale renovations and construction due to years of neglect, decay, and poor maintenance, and which was to be transformed by the Trump Administration into the Finest Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World, is not allowed to close for these renovations, which would not be possible to properly do without such a closure," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on May 29.
He accused Democrats of caring "more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center," and therefore "we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it."
Washington-based Judge Christopher R. Cooper issued an order on May 29, which temporarily halted the name change and stopped the center from being shut down for a two-year remodel.
"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 said.
Congress organized the center as a "bureau" within the Smithsonian Institution directed by a board of trustees, he said.
The board was given several duties, including "programming obligations," "memorial obligations" honoring the legacy of Kennedy, and general maintenance obligations, the judge said.
To satisfy these obligations, Congress "empowered the Board to do the kinds of things that boards typically do: negotiate contracts, prepare budgets, employ personnel, solicit and accept gifts, transfer property, bargain with employees, procure insurance, and issue annual reports."
The lawsuit's claim that the center's board violated its fiduciary duty in voting to close the center was "likely to succeed," the judge said.
A fiduciary duty is a duty of loyalty, care, and good faith that one party owes to another in positions of trust.
Cooper ruled that the building needed to stay open during the planned construction, which would have started after July 4.
Trump said in his May 29 statement that the building needed to be closed for renovation because it had rotting beams and parking areas that were about to collapse.
"I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight," Trump wrote.
"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 the Department of Commerce will arrange a full transfer of operations, maintenance, and management to Congress.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House for additional information.
The ruling came in response to litigation initiated in December 2025 by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who sued Trump and the Kennedy Center board of trustees over its renaming as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Beatty is an ex officio member of the center's board of trustees.
Trump appointed himself to the chairman of the venue's Board of Trustees after he entered his second term as president in early 2025.
The president swiftly removed and replaced the board's chairman and every single board member who did not share his vision for "a Golden Age in Arts and Culture."
The current board, which included Vice President JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, and Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo - unanimously voted to rename the institution the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December 2025. Trump welcomed the name change but noted that he didn't ask for it.
The rebrand came with backlash from some in the performing arts community, as high-profit shows like Hamilton pulled out of plans to tour there.
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas said it stood in solidarity with the Dramatists Guild and Actors' Equity Association members who cut ties with the Kennedy Center after Trump's new board took over.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Actors' Equity Association and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas for comment on the latest development.
Matthew Vadum contributed to this report.