Courts Block Trump's Kennedy Center Takeover and $1.8B Payout Fund

A federal judge in Washington delivered a sweeping rebuke to the Trump administration on Friday, ordering the Kennedy Center to strip the president's name from its marble facade and blocking its planned summer closure — all in a single 94-page opinion. Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that a 1964 act of Congress made it unambiguous that the institution was named for the slain president, and that only Congress could change that. The building's facade currently reads 'The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,' lettering added in December after Trump's board of loyalists — whom he installed as chairman — voted to rename it.

Cooper also found the board had been 'derelict' in approving the closure, ruling that none of the trustees had adequate information before their March 16 vote. The closure plan had been framed as addressing urgent maintenance issues — water damage, corroded systems, outdated stage equipment — backed by $257 million secured from Congress. The Kennedy Center vowed to appeal, with a spokeswoman signing her statement as 'Trump Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations,' signaling the administration has no intention of backing down quietly.

Separately, a federal judge in Virginia slammed the brakes on Trump's $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization fund,' prohibiting any money transfers, claim reviews, or disbursements until at least a June 12 hearing. Judge Leonie Brinkema's order came in a suit brought by an unusual coalition — including a fired Jan. 6 prosecutor, a California professor arrested at an immigration protest, the city of New Haven, and the National Abortion Federation — all of whom argue they were genuinely targeted by the Trump administration but would be categorically excluded from the fund. The fund originated from a deal resolving Trump's IRS lawsuit over leaked tax returns, and as part of the arrangement, Trump and his family received immunity from ongoing tax audits — a benefit potentially worth $100 million. Jan. 6 rioters have publicly announced plans to apply for payouts.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door session on the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files, but refused to answer questions about Trump's appearances in those documents. She deflected blame onto former deputy Todd Blanche, saying he 'was managing the entire investigation.' Harmeet Dhillon, currently the assistant attorney general for civil rights, sat at Bondi's side as her purported private attorney, repeatedly instructing her not to answer questions — a move Democrats called an administration-sanctioned effort to suppress damaging testimony. Several Epstein survivors gathered outside the hearing room, warning against using Bondi as a scapegoat.