Kennedy Center Board Votes to Close Building and Engrave Trump's Name — Defying Federal Judge

The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to close its main building for renovations and to inscribe "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" beneath the institution's name — a direct provocation to a federal judge who has already blocked the center's previous attempts to honor Trump on the building. The board, stacked with Trump allies including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, adviser Dan Scavino, and Allison Lutnick, passed both resolutions in a virtual, non-public session. Judge Christopher R. Cooper of Federal District Court in Washington will now review whether trustees conducted sufficient due diligence before voting.

The closure vote follows months of legal wrangling. Trump announced in February that the center would shut down for two years, calling it "tired, broken and dilapidated." Judge Cooper blocked that original vote in May, finding it "ill-informed and seemingly preordained" and ruling the board had been "derelict." He ordered the trustees to seriously consider their legal obligations — both to operate a premier arts venue and to memorialize President Kennedy — before voting again. The center has until next week to share its revised plan with the judge.

The $250 million renovation blueprint, laid out in a 163-page document from construction firm JLL, includes new marble floors, $11.8 million in acoustical upgrades, $7 million in public restroom renovations, a new coffee shop, electronic ticketing kiosks, and a plan to temporarily relocate the famous 3,000-pound bronze Kennedy bust. The target reopening date is summer 2028. An outside consulting firm hired to compare renovation scenarios concluded that keeping the building open during a phased, four-year construction process would cost more than twice the $257 million Congress appropriated last year — covering less than half of estimated expenses under that approach.

The name inscription vote is an escalation of an ongoing legal battle. Trump's name was first added to the building last year; Cooper ruled only Congress has authority to change the center's name, since it was dedicated to President Kennedy by Congress in 1964. The center removed the Trump lettering in June but is appealing. The board's new resolution directs officials to use "all legal means" to honor Trump for saving the center from what it calls "the brink of disaster." Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who holds an ex officio board seat and filed the lawsuit challenging the closure, has argued the shutdown may be engineered to obscure a financial collapse driven by cratering ticket sales and a mass exodus of artists and audiences.

The cultural damage is already visible. Broadway touring productions — a major revenue source — have booked elsewhere for the coming season. The National Symphony Orchestra has yet to announce a fall season that normally opens in late September. Staff have endured multiple rounds of layoffs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has acted as a Trump surrogate on board matters, saying Trump asked him to ensure the board's process would withstand judicial scrutiny. Whether the judge agrees it does will likely be decided in the coming weeks.