Kennedy Center board votes to close after judge blocks Trump name

In February 2025 Trump replaced Kennedy Center trustees and later became board chair.

In December the board voted to rename the institution to include Donald J. Trump’s name.

Lettering with Trump’s name was affixed to the front portico the day after the December vote.

Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex officio board member, sued over the renaming and closure.

Artists canceled and ticket sales fell after the attempt to put Trump’s name on the center.

In May Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Trump’s name had been added illegally and ordered it removed.

Cooper in May also blocked a full closure for renovations.

After the name came down, a tarp-covered scaffold has obscured the facade.

Congress appropriated about $250 million to $257 million for Kennedy Center renovations.

In August the board voted to inscribe that the center was renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump.

The board voted to rename the grounds President Donald J. Trump Plaza.

The board tied further Trump recognition to a $100 million fundraising campaign.

Part of the Grand Foyer ceiling collapsed during a recent rainstorm.

Kennedy Center leaders told the board the main building is unsafe for continued occupancy.

Administrators said the center is within weeks of being unable to meet payroll and routine maintenance.

Tuesday’s closure vote was the board’s third since February.

On Tuesday Judge Cooper blocked the board from putting Trump’s name back on the building or grounds.

Cooper wrote that defendants cannot install memorials for Trump or anyone else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.

Cooper wrote that the board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.

Cooper said Congress memorialized Kennedy, and no one else, at the center that bears his name.

Cooper wrote the government offered no proof that donations hinge on Trump’s name being on the building.

Cooper’s written order came shortly before the board voted to close.

The Trump-aligned board voted Tuesday to close the Kennedy Center’s main building.

The planned closure is for about two years of renovations.

Trump and the board said the building is being closed for safety reasons.

The board cited financial distress as a reason to close for renovations.

Trump said the board voted almost unanimously to close.

Trump said the closing will take place immediately.

A May injunction still bars a full closure unless Cooper lifts it.

Trump said renovation cannot begin until the D.C. Circuit rules on the board’s approved name.

Trump said if the appeals ruling is negative and the Supreme Court does not overturn it, the renovation will not take place.

Trump said $17 million he raised has been put into a Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat.

The Justice Department appealed Cooper’s Tuesday ruling and said it would seek an expedited appeal.

Trump chairs the board, which is filled with his Cabinet members and allies.

Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick joined the Tuesday board meeting.

Allison Lutnick, the commerce secretary’s wife, sits on the Kennedy Center board.

Beatty said Trump verbally berated her or threw a tantrum on the board call after the court loss.

Beatty said the center had planned phased renovations while keeping some performances.

Beatty said Trump only cares about the Kennedy Center for his vanity and that putting his name on it breaches his fiduciary duty.

Beatty said Trump is holding the Kennedy Center hostage unless he can put his name on the memorial.

Kennedy Center spokeswoman Roma Daravi said the center intends to appeal and still recognize Trump’s contributions.

The administration is expected to ask Cooper to lift the closure block by Friday.

Beatty’s lawyers include Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky.

A draft resolution listed multiple options for inscribing Trump’s name; the board did not vote on that recognition measure Tuesday.

Trump announced adding his name to the institution last year among other D.C. rebranding measures.