Federal judge ordered Trump’s name removed from the venue in May
The 2026 Kennedy Center Honors will be held at the Capital One Arena in Washington on December 7, a Kennedy Center spokesperson said, marking the first time the annual ceremony will be staged outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since the award began in 1978. The list of honorees has not been announced.
The Kennedy Center Honors has been held in the Kennedy Center’s Opera House each year since the awards began, and is widely regarded as one of the leading U.S. distinctions recognizing achievement in the performing arts. Congress established the performing arts center, which opened in 1971, as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in November 1963.
The venue change comes amid a legal and political fight over the Kennedy Center’s future. In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Kennedy Center to remove Trump’s name from the building, ruling that the venue “must be named for, and is meant to honor, president Kennedy alone.” The order followed a December vote by the Kennedy Center’s board, whose members were largely appointed by Trump, to add Trump’s name to the institution.
Last month, Trump ordered the Kennedy Center closed “immediately” and warned he would cancel the planned renovation of the institution unless federal courts permitted his name to appear on the front of the building. A subsequent vote by the Trump-appointed board shut down the institution’s performing arts building, citing financial and safety concerns in support of the decision.
Trump addressed the future of the center while speaking with reporters last month, threatening to tear the whole facility down. “I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down,” Trump said.
The center had abruptly closed for renovations after ticket sales cratered amid Trump’s influence over programming there since he retook the White House, and the building has been in limbo since.
Judge Cooper directed the Trump administration last month to give at least 30 days notice before taking any action toward tearing down the building. Earlier this week, Republican Senator Mike Lee blocked a bipartisan bill that would have prevented Trump from demolishing the Kennedy Center without the approval of Congress.
Trump’s plans for the Kennedy Center have also led to protests.