A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has banned President Donald Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center. 

US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Friday that the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center Board’s decision to add the President’s name to the performing arts center was unlawful. 

Trump was sued by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, who has standing in the case because she serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, as a member of Congress. 

‘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 wrote. 

‘Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,’ he added. 

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment. Beatty’s office didn’t return a call.

‘We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center,’ spokesperson Roma Daravi told the Daily Mail in a statement. 

Cooper also ruled that Trump could not close the center for two years for renovations. 

Workers added President Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center in December. A federal judge ruled Friday that Trump’s name cannot be added 

President Donald Trump (right) waves alongside First Lady Melania Trump (right) from the president’s box at the ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ during the opening night of Chicago in March 

In December, Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the performing arts center ‘The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.’ 

A day later, workers were seen adding new lettering to the building’s historic mid-century facade.   

That prompted outcry from members of the public and from the Kennedy family, as the arts center was intended to be a functioning memorial to President John F Kennedy. 

Congress had dedicated the planned arts center to JFK in 1964, the year following the Democratic President’s assassination.    

Trump had put the center under the control of Ric Grenell, who was the President’s acting Director of National Intelligence during his first term, and was also serving as a special envoy while in the Kennedy Center post. 

Attendance sagged, however, with some artists staging boycotts and others scrubbed from the schedule for being too ‘woke.’ 

Grenell warned the Daily Mail in December that the building was in such disrepair that some engineers suggested tearing down the landmark and starting over. 

In February, Trump announced that the ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ would close for two years so the building could be renovated. 

The facade of the Kennedy Center in January after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facade of the historic performing arts center

Signage outside the Kennedy Center shows that President Donald Trump’s name was added to it 

And in March, the President announced Grenell would be stepping down. 

The Kennedy Center was set to close on July 5, a day after the country’s 250th birthday celebration.

In his ruling Friday, Cooper said not so fast – saying that repairs could go forward and a closure could be lawful, if the board was more thoughtful. 

Cooper said the board’s closure decision was based on ‘an insufficient, one-sided presentation of information’ and ‘neglected to consider the full range off its statutory obligations and potential adverse consequences of closure on programming and memorial functions.’ 

Daravi said the judge’s decision will be carefully reviewed ‘though the reality remains – the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges.’

‘With $257million secured by President Trump and approved by congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,’ Daravi added.