{"id":812699,"date":"2026-08-13T22:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/812699\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T22:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:10:09","slug":"kennedy-centers-bid-to-add-trumps-name-and-close-tests-a-judges-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/812699\/","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center’s bid to add Trump’s name and close tests a judge’s order"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The battle over the Kennedy Center\u2019s future<\/a> escalated Thursday as President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> allies on the board took new steps to commemorate him with physical changes to the iconic performing arts institution that could defy a federal court order<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During an hourslong meeting that was conducted virtually, the board voted to add Trump\u2019s name to the building\u2019s facade so it would read \u201cThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.\u201d The plaza in front of the building would be named after Trump and most of the space at the venue would be closed for two years to allow for substantial renovations.<\/p>\n

The changes, described by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who is an ex-officio board member, and her lawyers, amount to a dramatic test of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. He ruled in May that letters affixed to the building that spelled out Trump\u2019s name were added illegally and he ordered their removal, a decision that the Republican administration failed to persuade courts to overturn. At the same time, Cooper blocked a two-year closure that was set to take effect July 5, saying an earlier board vote authorizing the shuttering was \u201cill-informed and seemingly preordained.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court\u2019s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed,\u201d Beatty said in a statement. \u201cI will continue to fight for this treasured national monument.\u201d<\/p>\n

A representative of the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Much of Thursday\u2019s board meeting was expected to focus on the extent of closures required to allow for renovations that the Kennedy Center\u2019s management says are needed to improve safety. In response to the judge\u2019s criticism of the earlier vote, the institution\u2019s leaders said they would provide the board with three options to consider.<\/p>\n

They included a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow \u201csome continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected\u201d by the work. A third option would \u201cconsider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center\u2019s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the board decided to close the building for two years while leaving the potential for some degree of programming to still happen in an outdoor space known as the Reach. The decision to move ahead with the two-year closure, in addition to the moves to memorialize Trump, could revive questions about whether the board seriously considered the full range of options. <\/p>\n

During Trump\u2019s second term, the Kennedy Center has become an unlikely \u2014 and highly visible \u2014 metaphor of presidential power. While he largely ignored the institution during his first round in Washington, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution\u2019s leadership<\/a> when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. <\/p>\n

His name was quickly added to the building, before coming down in June in response to Cooper\u2019s order. The area where it once stood is now covered by a massive tarp. <\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s push to remake the nation\u2019s capital<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center moves are part of Trump\u2019s broader push to reshape the physical landscape of the nation\u2019s capital in ways that have few modern parallels. <\/p>\n

He demolished the East Wing<\/a> of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom<\/a> in its place, though an appeals court ruled last week<\/a> that construction should stop because Congress didn\u2019t approve the project. Trump has said he will take the case to the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n

His remodel of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a> has also stumbled after algae returned<\/a> and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro refuted his claims that a vandal was responsible for the damage.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Trump is planning extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park<\/a>, which could significantly reduce the public\u2019s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch<\/a> that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery.<\/p>\n

Trump has derided the Kennedy Center as \u201crusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested\u201d and threatened to hand the building over to Congress after Cooper rejected the closure and the addition of the president\u2019s name to the building. <\/p>\n

The institution\u2019s leadership has argued that it\u2019s in genuine need of repair and updating. <\/p>\n

Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center\u2019s executive director and chief operating officer<\/a>, guided a group of journalists through the building in April, highlighting severe water damage that he said corroded steel in some places as thin as tissue paper. Some pieces of equipment, including several 800-ton chillers that help cool the building, are decades old and in need of replacement.<\/p>\n

At the time, Floca said he considered doing the repairs individually but insisted it was his recommendation to Trump to close the building and move forward with the renovation all at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the president asked: \u2018How do you make these projects the best? How do you make them really excellent and deliver them efficiently?\u2019 my recommendation was you close the building and you do everything over a definite period of time, two years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

More recently, the legal battles became the subject of barbs and jokes as comedian Bill Maher accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor<\/a> in late June. At the start of the program, Pamella Roland DeVos, a Kennedy Center trustee appointed by Trump, described the institution as a \u201cnational cultural center open not just for some but for every American patron who wants to experience the greatest art and expression the world has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe responsibility that comes with it is one our board takes very seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The battle over the Kennedy Center\u2019s future escalated Thursday as President Donald Trump\u2019s allies on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,10161,236322,3506,17809,3505,12,88,793,3138,73532,28030,236321,3,111,267317,21,19,22,20,25,24,8647,800],"class_list":["post-812699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-bill-maher","tag-christopher-cooper","tag-dc-wire","tag-decor","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-entertainment","tag-general-news","tag-government-and-politics","tag-jeanine-pirro","tag-john-f-kennedy","tag-joyce-beatty","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-trump-hub","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-voting","tag-washington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}