U.S. court blocks a series of Trump-backed initiatives, orders Kennedy Center name restored

[Financial News]  
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U.S. President Donald Trump suffered a series of setbacks in federal court on the 29th local time.
A court order temporarily suspended compensation payments from the so-called "Trump-Vance Weaponization Victims Fund," which the administration had been setting up to support people who said they were harmed by politically motivated judicial weaponization under the previous Democratic administration. The court also ordered the name of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. restored after Trump added his own name and changed it to "The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
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According to AP and other outlets, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered a temporary halt to compensation payments from the fund. She also barred the administration from moving forward with the fund-raising process while the lawsuit is pending.
A hearing to decide whether to extend the order is scheduled for the 12th of next month.
Earlier, the legal group Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit, arguing that the fund had no legal basis.
The fund was to be created by the administration as part of a deal in which Trump would drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his and his family's tax information to the media.
The $1.776 billion fund is widely seen as a way to compensate Trump allies and supporters.
But the fund has faced criticism from the start. Concerns were raised that people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol could also be eligible for support. Criticism also came from Democrats and even within Trump's own Republican Party.
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According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Judge Christopher Cooper of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that Trump's name be removed and that the center return to its original name, the Kennedy Center.
He said any name change would require approval from Congress.
Judge Cooper said Trump's name must be removed from the name of the center, a leading cultural venue in Washington, D.C. He ordered the administration to remove all signs bearing Trump's name within 14 days and delete all references to the "Trump Kennedy Center" from official materials.
Earlier, the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees unanimously voted in December last year to rename the center the "The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
The court also blocked a plan to shut down operations for two years starting in July for a full-scale renovation.
Meanwhile, Trump has been putting his name front and center since returning to office for a second term.
The federal child asset-building support program, which allows children to invest in stocks and other assets from an early age, was named the "Trump Accounts." The Navy also gave a new battleship the name "Trump-class battleship." He also introduced a new permanent residency program called the "Trump Gold Card," which grants U.S. green cards to those who pay $1 million.
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dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter