President Donald Trump is fuming about a court ruling that blocked his renovation plans for the Kennedy Center in Washington. He's using a social media post to brand the federal judge who issued the ruling Friday as “an anti Trump Hater.” And the Republican president is predicting that the nation’s premier performing arts center he wanted to shutter for a two-year overhaul will “soon be closed, probably never to open again.” again.” In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump's Truth Social post continued to make the case for the project but didn't clarify whether he'll keep defending the work in court.

A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations. Trump said in response that he’s backing away from his proposed renovation and returning control of the arts institution to Congress. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Kennedy Center board’s March 16 vote to close the facility was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained” with no regard for its legal obligations. Cooper also concluded that the board “overstepped its statutory bounds” by unilaterally adding Trump’s name to the center. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it, he said.