WASHINGTON — The Kennedy Center’s board voted Tuesday to cease operations, citing financial issues after a federal judge barred President Trump’s name from returning to the performing arts center.
The board voted last month to rename the area around the center “Trump Plaza” and add to the building’s facade the words, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Tuesday morning that congressional approval is needed — after Cooper previously barred a rebrand as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” with the same rationale.
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” wrote the appointee of former President Barack Obama.
“The Board of The Kennedy Center today agreed, almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons, and so that it can begin the process of Reconstruction,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president, who chairs the board, wrote that “the closing will take place immediately; however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name.”
“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” Trump added.
“The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal. In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat.”
The board had voted last month to keep open an adjacent venue called the Reach during renovations to the main building.
