The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees on Thursday voted to move forward with President Trump’s plan to close the building for renovations for two years, according to the Associated Press. During the same meeting, the board, which is filled with the president’s allies, also voted to inscribe Trump’s name on the building.
The votes came after a federal judge in May ordered a halt to Trump’s plan to close the center, and also that Trump’s name be removed from the building, where it had been added to the venue’s official name. The new inscription will read, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” according to the New York Times. Rep. Joyce Beatty confirmed the news to the AP. The move appears to be an attempt to sidestep U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper’s ruling that the law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.”
Cooper wrote in that same ruling that the board’s original vote in March to close the venue beginning July 5 was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.” But he left open the possibility of a closure if — after a more thorough investigation by the board into the plan — the decision was again made. The board’s recent vote came after it reviewed information about the repercussions and costs of a closure. This included three scenarios: a full closure, a partial closure over a period of five years and a limited series of phased closures, sources close to the situation told the AP, asking to remain anonymous.
It is unclear if the recent vote will again face legal pushback.
The Kennedy Center has been in crisis for more than a year, beginning in February 2025 when Trump fired its board and appointed himself chairman. He swiftly selected Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany and a staunch ally, as acting director of the center. Under Trump and Grenell, the venue ruptured audiences and lost a slew of high-profile shows and artists including “Hamilton,” Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds. The Washington National Opera also left the venue, which it had occupied for decades.
The situation worsened late last year after the board voted to rename the venue the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Performers, including jazz musician Chuck Redd, canceled a variety of holiday shows. The Kennedy Center threatened to sue Redd, creating a legal drama that continued until this week when a superior court judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the center to pay more than $250,000 to Reddto cover attorneys’ fees and other legal costs.
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