A federal judge has issued a temporary halt preventing the Trump administration from shutting the Kennedy Center for maintenance and has directed that President Donald Trump name be taken off both the structure and its website. The ruling states that any formal name change for the venue requires approval from Congress.

The directive from US District Judge Christopher Cooper came on Friday and gives the administration 14 days to remove every mention of Trump from the center and its digital platforms. In a detailed 94-page ruling issued on the birthday of President John F. Kennedy, Cooper determined that only Congress holds the power to alter the institution name.

Congress assigned the Kennedy Center its original name, and only Congress holds the authority to modify it, Cooper stated. Labeling the venue as the Trump Kennedy Center goes beyond a minor title adjustment, the judge noted, pointing to signs that read The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Such wording shifts the formal identity of the organization.

The Trump Kennedy Center designation introduces an entirely new element to the official title and places President Kennedy name in a secondary position, Cooper wrote. If that does not constitute a renaming, what does? The judge rejected claims that no actual name change had occurred, describing the administration position as unconvincing and comparing it to a simple clerical swap rather than a substantive alteration.

Trump Defends Overhaul Plans for Kennedy Center

Trump defended the proposed renovation, calling the work essential to fix major structural and safety issues. He also criticized Cooper, claiming political bias and conflicts of interest. I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight, Trump stated. 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.

The president indicated he would ask Congress to take over the center future, working with lawmakers to return the failing institution to them for a decision on its path forward.