The Kennedy Center board has voted to close the performing arts centre for two years, just as a US judge blocked it from adding President Donald Trump’s name back to the building.
In May, the same judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name and blocked its temporary closure for proposed renovations. The board, which is chaired by Trump and includes his cabinet members and allies, approved a resolution in August to add the inscription “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” to the venue.
The judge’s written order came less than an hour before the centre’s board voted on the closure. This was the third time it has approved closing the centre since February, amid legal challenges to Trump’s work to take greater control of the institution.
The Court’s Ruling
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Christopher Cooper said in his written order on Tuesday.
He said the board’s proposal to add language to the name of the centre and its surrounding campus “bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.” That statute marked a decision by lawmakers to memorialise President John F. Kennedy, “and no one else, at the Center bearing his name,” the order said.
The Closure Vote
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the board voted “almost unanimously” to close the venue “for safety reasons.” While the closing “will take place immediately,” Trump said renovations cannot begin until the court “rules on the Board’s approved name” and vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court if it is a “negative” ruling.
He added that the US Department of Justice would ask for an expedited appeal and that he had raised $17 million for the centre to “keep it afloat.”
In August, the board approved a resolution to rename the campus the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” if $100 million was raised for the renovations. Congress has approved more than $250 million for renovations.
However, the centre cannot close unless Judge Cooper lifts a temporary block he put in place in May requiring it to stay open while a lawsuit brought by board member Joyce Beatty goes ahead.
The Opposition
Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, said on Tuesday that the centre had planned for years to undergo phased renovations while still putting on some performances, instead of fully shutting.
She blamed Trump’s attempted renaming for the departures of audiences and artists, telling the BBC he “only cares about the Kennedy Center for his vanity.” “That is wrong and it is a breach of his fiduciary duty as a trustee,” she said. “Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President Kennedy, and I am proud to defend this cherished institution.”
The Financial Situation
The Kennedy Center administration told the board on Sunday that the arts institution was on the brink of bankruptcy, according to The Washington Post. The centre was in a “precarious fiscal position” and would not be able to cover payroll obligations and routine maintenance contracts “within a matter of weeks.”
Trump has said it is “in a virtual state of collapse,” and the centre’s leadership has said the building is unsafe for continued occupancy, pointing to part of the ceiling falling in recently. But others dispute that it must be closed.
The Bottom Line
The Kennedy Center board has voted to close the performing arts centre for two years, but a federal judge has blocked the closure and ruled that Trump’s name cannot be added to the building without Congress’s approval. The board, chaired by Trump, approved the closure “for safety reasons,” but the centre cannot close unless the judge lifts a temporary block. The legal fight centres on whether Congress must approve changes to the memorial honouring President Kennedy.
