The former CBC chair has twice prevailed in court as she challenges efforts to rename and make major changes to the performing arts center.
Rep. Joyce Beatty is the sole plaintiff in the federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s plans for the Kennedy Center, taking the dispute from board meetings into court.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has now prevailed twice in federal court in her challenge to actions taken by Trump and the Kennedy Center board.
Beatty filed her lawsuit in December 2025 after the board voted to add Trump’s name to the center. She said she had been muted during the virtual meeting and prevented from speaking against the proposal.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the board could not rename the Kennedy Center without congressional approval and ordered Trump’s name removed from the building. In September, Cooper again sided with Beatty, blocking additional attempts to place Trump’s name on the center or rename its grounds in his honor.
The dispute has since expanded beyond the name. The Kennedy Center board voted this month to close the main building for up to two years for a planned $257 million renovation. Beatty has challenged that action as well, while Trump and Kennedy Center officials say extensive work is needed because of the building’s condition.
Trump has criticized Beatty during the dispute, calling her “a destructive person” and saying she had “never built anything.” Beatty has continued pressing the case in court.
The administration has appealed Cooper’s latest ruling, while the judge has ordered at least 30 days’ notice before any major structural changes, including demolition.
Beatty has represented Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District since 2013 and previously served five terms in the Ohio House. She chaired the Congressional Black Caucus during the 117th Congress and currently serves as an ex officio Kennedy Center trustee.
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