The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, largely appointed by President Donald Trump, voted on Tuesday to immediately close the venue, according to a source familiar with the decision. Board members argued that the institution faces severe financial and structural problems.
The vote occurred shortly after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the board’s latest attempt to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade. The board had claimed that such recognition was necessary to prevent the memorial to John F. Kennedy from going bankrupt.
Safety Concerns Cited
The board pointed to a partial ceiling collapse in the center’s Grand Foyer earlier this month as evidence that the building needed to be closed immediately for repairs. In a draft resolution to close the center for two years, the board stated that a construction consultant and the center’s director “consider the main building to be unsafe for continued occupancy, and anticipate further risk to the public and employees if the building is not immediately closed and renovations begun.”
This was the third time since February that the board voted to close the center for a two-year renovation period. Ex-officio board member Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, has challenged these efforts in court, arguing that the board needs congressional approval to close the venue and did not fully investigate whether parts of the center could remain open during renovations.
Legal Dispute Over Closure
Attorneys for the board have said the legal action has prevented them from making necessary repairs. However, the judge presiding over the case noted at a hearing on Tuesday—as he had previously—that his earlier order preventing full closure allowed for emergency repairs.
Trump, who serves as the board’s chairman, joined the closed-door meeting virtually and spent several minutes criticizing both Beatty and the judge who blocked his name from being added to the facade, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
Financial Crisis and Proposed Recognition
In a separate resolution that was not expected to be taken up on Tuesday, the Kennedy Center said it “is in a dire financial position” and facing potential bankruptcy after it “exhausted its fiscal resources.” The resolution stated that only the board’s chairman, President Donald Trump, is in a position to rescue it. To do so, the board had said he would need to be recognized for his efforts on the exterior of the building.
“The Kennedy Center is in such a precarious fiscal position that it will not be able to support its payroll obligations, nor routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks,” the draft resolution, made public in a court filing, said. “While actively considering alternative means of fiscal survival, President Trump has offered to step in and raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy during its much needed renovation.”
The resolution also sought to determine what recognition would comply with the judge’s earlier order banning the center from being renamed the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Last month, the board voted to add the words “renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump” to the building and to rename the property “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” by Sept. 8. The new draft resolution offered numerous other similar suggestions.
Judge Rules Against Name Addition
In a ruling issued just before the board vote, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found that the board’s latest attempt to add Trump’s name to the facade was also illegal.
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing. The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”
Beatty’s attorney, Norm Eisen, accused the board on Monday of effectively trying to shake down the institution. “Pay up or the Kennedy Center closes, & the price is Trump’s name on the building,” Eisen wrote in a post on X, calling it an “outrageous act of hostage taking.”