FACT CHECK #JVUB0AZU

EXHIBIT A

What you submitted

WHAT WE FOUND

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ruled that the Kennedy Center cannot be renamed without an act of Congress 1 4 5. Cooper's 94-page opinion found that the center's Board of Trustees overstepped its statutory bounds by unilaterally adding Donald Trump's name to the building 5 8. The ruling followed a legal challenge involving the 1964 federal law that established the venue as a memorial to John F. Kennedy 4 9. By June 13, 2026, the venue's executive director confirmed that the institution had complied with the order to strip Trump’s name from the facade and its website 3 7 11. A panel of appellate judges, which included two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee, subsequently rejected a Justice Department request to stay Cooper's ruling 12.

SOURCES

1. 1 · bbc.comNEWS
   US judge orders Trump's name be removed from Kennedy Center

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2. 2 · nytimes.comNEWS
   Judge Orders President’s Name Off Kennedy Center, and He Reacts With Fury - The New York Times

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3. 3 · theguardian.comNEWS
   Workers remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center after court rulings | Washington DC | The Guardian

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4. 4 · usatoday.comWEB
   Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center after blowing past deadline

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5. 5 · foxnews.comWEB
   Federal judge orders Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it

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6. 6 · usmagazine.comWEB
   Did President Donald Trump’s Name Come Off the Side of D.C.’s Kennedy Center? What to Know

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7. 7 · pbs.orgWEB
   Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center building following court-ordered deadline | PBS News

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8. 8 · americantribune.comWEB
   Obama-appointed judge orders Trump's name stripped from Kennedy Center hours before his birthday

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9. 9 · newsweek.comWEB
   Kennedy Center Misses Deadline To Remove Trump's Name: What To Know - Newsweek

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10. 10 · nbcnews.comWEB
    Judge temporarily halts Kennedy Center closure and orders removal of Trump’s name from building

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11. 11 · abcnews.comWEB
    Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center following court order: DOJ - ABC News

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12. 12 · cbsnews.comWEB
    Trump's name has been removed from the Kennedy Center, a court filing says, as tarp remains up - CBS News

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