Kennedy Center board votes for immediate closure; Trump threatens to cancel the renovation

The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, composed mostly of members appointed by President Donald Trump, voted on Tuesday in a closed meeting via the Zoom platform for the immediate closure of the iconic institution’s main building. Only the smaller and newer wing of the complex, known as REACH, will remain open. According to the board’s plan, the center’s renovation is expected to last about two years.

President Trump, who also chairs the board himself, wrote on Truth Social that the closure will happen immediately, but the renovation — “a very big and complex job”, as he described it — will not begin before the Court of Appeals in Washington rules on the “board-approved name”. If the decision is not overturned, Trump wrote, “the Rebuilding and Renovation of the Kennedy Center will not happen”.

The closure decision directly defies the order of federal judge Christopher Cooper in May, who had blocked a similar board vote in March. Meanwhile, Department of Justice lawyers are asking Judge Cooper to lift the preliminary order that kept the center open.

In a court hearing on Tuesday, Judge Cooper also blocked the board’s plan to place a plaque with Trump’s name below the center’s main sign, calling the move a violation of his court order and of the 1964 federal law that gave the institution the name of President John F. Kennedy. “Simply put, the defendants cannot place memorials for President Trump without the blessing of Congress,” the judge said.

Center officials close to Trump defend the closure, arguing that the building is in poor condition and poses a danger to the public. On the other hand, Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the president “only cares about vanity” and that donors, the public and artists have walked away after the attempt to rename the institution.

The center had already begun canceling major performances in the main halls. An external report commissioned by the board mentions water leaks and structural problems in the building.

Source: USA Today