The Trump administration threatened the demolition of the Kennedy Center if the center is not allowed to close for two years for renovations.
The Justice Department floated the notion in a court filing Monday.
“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years,” DOJ attorney Brantley T. Mayers wrote.
The department noted that any potential outdoor amphitheater would “fail to adequately honor” President John F. Kennedy, “but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain.”
In the filing, attorneys called the Kennedy Center “structurally unsound, fundamentally unsafe, and embarrassing to the Nation’s Capital.”
“The Trump Administration, and President Trump, have also committed an enormous amount of time and energy in planning for the forthcoming renovation and restoration of this building, a task which President Trump, given his unrivaled expertise and experience in real estate and construction, and prominence as President, is uniquely qualified to accomplish,” Mayers wrote in opposition to Rep. Joyce Beatty’s motion to block the administration from closing the center completely.
“Even Beatty should prefer a healthy, restored Center to a decaying hulk that is doomed to inevitable destruction or collapse. The Court should allow the Board and President Trump to bring the Center back to a level of greatness far higher than it has ever had before. This would be the fitting tribute that President Kennedy so well deserves,” Mayers wrote.
A hearing on the closure and name change is set to be held in D.C. on Thursday.
The Kennedy Center told a federal court earlier this month that it would not attempt to return President Donald Trump’s name to the building’s facade before at least Sept. 8 as another legal battle over the performing arts venue’s future takes shape.
In a status report, opponents of the move said members of the Kennedy Center’s Trump-aligned board “seem intent” on defying an earlier court order requiring the Republican president’s name to be removed from the building. The Kennedy Center said it would not move forward with the plans until after Labor Day “at the earliest” to allow time for legal arguments.
A board meeting this month that was expected to largely focus on options to close the Kennedy Center for renovations instead transformed into another push to attach Trump’s name to the building, part of a broader move by the president and his supporters to leave a physical mark on the nation’s capital.
The board passed a resolution to name the plaza in front of the building after Trump and add his name to the venue’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” In the filing, Beatty said the board also agreed to add an additional reference to the president if the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million.
In that event, the facade would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
The board also voted to back a two-year closure for renovations, while some of the institution’s signature programming, including the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, would take place at off-site locations. The National Symphony Orchestra announced it would split its upcoming season between six venues in and around Washington.
Virginia Rep. James Walkinshaw reacted to news that President Donald Trump was seeking $1 billion in taxpayer funds to build the White House ballroom. “[It’s] insulting to hardworking American families struggling to make ends meet.”
The Associated Press contributed prior reporting.
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