[ { "paragraph": "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump called a federal judge “an anti‑Trump Hater” after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked plans to renovate the Kennedy Center, the country’s premier performing‑arts venue. Trump also said the center, to be shuttered for a two‑year overhaul, would “soon be closed, probably never to open again.”" }, { "paragraph": "In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump had blasted the Friday ruling, claiming the judge’s wife, lawyer Amy Jeffress, had partly decided to halt the project. The judge was nominated by former President Barack Obama, while Jeffress, a partner at the Hecker Fink law firm, served as counsel to Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration." }, { "paragraph": "Trump’s post also highlighted a lawsuit that the Hecker Fink firm is filing against the Department of Justice, aimed at blocking the release of audio recordings and transcripts of former President Joe Biden’s interviews with a ghostwriter. Biden’s team seeks to prevent those documents from being made public." }, { "paragraph": "The judge’s ruling declared that the board’s March 16 vote to close the Kennedy Center was “ill‑informed and seemingly preordained,” and that the board had exceeded its statutory authority by adding Trump’s name to the center. Cooper ordered that name be removed within two weeks. The court said that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center’s name." }, { "paragraph": "Trump explained that it was the board—not his administration—that added his name, and that the board’s decision to remove it is a “mistake for this dying institution.” He said he had replaced the Kennedy Center’s previous leadership with a hand‑picked board that named him chairman during his first months in office in January 2025." }, { "paragraph": "Cooper held hearings late April on two parallel lawsuits. One was filed by cultural and historic preservation groups and the other, by Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat who serves on the board by virtue of her congressional seat. Cooper ruled in favor of Beatty’s request to continue the center’s operations but denied the preservation group’s challenge." }, { "paragraph": "Trump’s posts continued to brand the move as a political attack, linking it to earlier setbacks such as the Supreme Court’s rejection of his sweeping tariffs. He further noted that the Kennedy Center, named after a late Democratic president, was “rusted, rotted, and ratted bug‑infested,” and that the new building would have been “incomparable.”" }, { "paragraph": "The White House has not yet clarified whether Trump will remain chairman or continue to defend the renovation plans in court." } ]