The Trump administration is telling a federal judge it may tear down the Kennedy Center if it isn’t allowed to move forward with a court-contested plan that includes adding President Trump’s name to the building. The threat came in a Justice Department court filing last month and remains the backdrop for a hearing this week over whether the center’s board can legally rename it.
What exactly does Trump want changed at the Kennedy Center?
Earlier this year, Trump reshaped the Kennedy Center’s board with his own appointees, who then voted to approve adding “Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” to the building’s formal name and rebranding the outdoor plaza as “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” A federal judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled in May that the board couldn’t make that change and ordered Trump’s name removed. In mid-August, the board voted again to push the closures and renaming plan forward anyway, prompting the current legal fight.
Who’s suing, and on what grounds?
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who sits on the Kennedy Center’s board, filed the lawsuit arguing that only Congress, not the board of trustees, has the authority to rename a building that was established by federal statute as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy. Her attorneys called the Justice Department’s demolition warning “a not-so-subtle threat,” saying in court filings, “This is unconscionable, it is unbecoming of the Department of Justice to even put this in a filing.” The Justice Department has countered that the board’s resolution is “completely lawful” and accused Beatty of a “hyper-partisan effort to oppose any recognition of President Trump’s contributions.”
What has Trump actually said about it?
Trump has posted repeatedly on Truth Social defending the renovation and renaming push, writing that the “Kennedy Center is an old and decrepit building that is badly in need of a major construction and public relations fix before it can attain greatness and prestige, perhaps far greater than ever before,” and that “It has been losing a fortune for many years, and will continue to do so if the highly conflicted judge on the case doesn’t allow us to do what has to be done!” He has also shared renovation photos referring to the venue as the “new TRUMP KENNEDY” and describing his goal as making it “the finest Arts and Entertainment Center anywhere in the World.” The demolition warning itself came from a Justice Department attorney’s court filing, not directly from Trump, and argued that without the disputed renovation work, “the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” potentially to be replaced with an outdoor amphitheater on the site overlooking the Potomac.
Is the Kennedy Center actually at risk of being demolished?
There’s no approved demolition plan on file, and the center’s front portico is currently just covered in construction tarps for renovation work already underway. The demolition language functioned as a legal argument in the Justice Department’s filing rather than an announced plan. The point being made to the court is that blocking the current renovation and naming plan could force a more drastic outcome down the line. Judge Cooper heard arguments from Beatty’s legal team this week and is expected to rule on whether the board’s renaming vote can stand.
Sources: CBS News · CNN · NPR · The Hill
Update: Judge rules against Trump’s name, and the board votes to close the building anyway
Update, Sept. 15: Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Tuesday that the Kennedy Center board cannot add Trump’s name anywhere on the building or grounds without congressional approval, rejecting the board’s proposed workaround of inscribing “Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump” on the facade instead of formally renaming the venue. Cooper called the board’s approach “linguistic gymnastics,” writing: “Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”
About an hour after the ruling, the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center’s main building for renovations. Trump has said the closure is needed to fix safety issues. Congress previously allocated $257 million for repairs, and the building recently had a partial ceiling collapse in its main hallway. But the timing, coming immediately after the naming ruling, has fueled criticism that the closure is leverage in the naming fight rather than a straightforward maintenance decision. The Justice Department has already filed an appeal of Cooper’s ruling.
Update sources: CP24/AP · ABC News
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