A federal judge has ruled that the Kennedy Center’s board cannot restore President Donald Trump’s name to the Washington, D.C., arts complex or rename its grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” without approval from Congress. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued the 22-page decision Tuesday, finding that a board resolution supporting the changes conflicted with both an earlier court order and federal law establishing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a living memorial to the former president. “Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper wrote. The decision followed a lawsuit filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board. Beatty sued in December to block the institution’s proposed rebranding as “The Trump Kennedy Center.” In a statement, Beatty said the law permits the center to be named for Kennedy and no one else. She accused Trump of making the institution’s name a condition of his support and said the court had rejected the proposal for a second time. Trump serves as the center’s chair, and many current board members were appointed by him. The board has argued that Trump is uniquely capable of raising the money needed for a major renovation and has portrayed a public tribute as appropriate recognition for his role. Cooper did not resolve whether the board may use Trump’s name for a planned $100 million fundraising campaign or place related plaques and signs inside the complex. He noted that the proposed fund had not raised any money. The ruling arrived shortly before a board meeting scheduled to consider whether to close the center immediately for extensive renovations. The lawsuit does not challenge those plans. Kennedy Center administrators have warned that portions of the main building are unsafe and that the institution could be within weeks of bankruptcy. Ticket sales and attendance have dropped sharply over the past year, while several prominent artists have canceled appearances amid concerns that the national arts institution has become increasingly politicized. The Kennedy Center opened Sept. 8, 1971, as a memorial to Kennedy. The court’s decision leaves Congress, rather than the board alone, as the body with authority to approve any new memorial name for the complex.