Without his name on the facade, Trump won't allow the Kennedy Center renovation as board votes for immediate closure

The Kennedy Center board of directors, composed almost entirely of members appointed by President Donald Trump, voted to immediately close Washington's premier performing arts center, citing its "serious" financial and structural condition. The decision came just hours after a federal judge rejected the board's latest attempt to add the president's name to the building's facade.

President Trump reacted quickly via a post on Truth Social, where he made it clear that the renovation of the center will depend on his name finally being engraved on the building, a move that quickly drew criticism in the capital from his Democratic opponents.

"The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name," Trump said. "If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place. The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal."

In the same message, the president noted that he had made his own financial contribution to the center: "In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat."

The closure followed a partial collapse of a section of the ceiling in the center's Grand Lobby earlier this month, an incident that highlighted the center's structural deterioration.

According to a draft resolution from the board, both a construction consultant and the facility's director deemed the main building unsafe for continued occupancy, posing a potential danger to the public or employees.

However, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Since February, this is the board's third vote to close the center for two full years of construction, and on all three occasions, Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio board member, has challenged the decision in court, arguing that the technical study necessary to support such a measure was never conducted.

The dispute with Beatty has long since gone beyond the legal realm. According to a source who participated in the board's latest virtual meeting, Trump and Beatty ended up practically shouting at each other. He accused her of being an "obstructionist" incapable of resolving anything; she responded that his attitude was unprofessional, and the two traded accusations of incompetence. The same source reported that Trump went so far as to insinuate, without any evidence, that the judge presiding over the case, Christopher Cooper, was biased because his wife, a lawyer, had previously represented former President Joe Biden, and suggested it was suspicious that she did not use her husband's last name.

Meanwhile, Cooper's ruling that sparked the controversy was quite forceful. The judge held that the board has no authority to install tributes to Trump, or to anyone else, without the approval of Congress, and characterized the attempt as a direct violation of both a previous court order and a current federal law. He also cast doubt on the financial argument the board had been using to push for the name change.

As he wrote, "no proof that current or future donations hinge on President Trump's name being on the building," nor was there any evidence that removing it would affect the artistic mission the center has been fulfilling for sixty years. In fact, he argued the evidence points the other way: while attempts were made to push for the name change, several artists canceled performances, the Washington National Opera ended a 50-year residency at the venue, and both ticket sales and attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors fell.

Beatty welcomed the ruling.

"The law is extremely clear: The John F. Kennedy Center is named for President Kennedy — and no one else. But President Trump is holding the Kennedy Center hostage unless he can put his name on this sacred memorial," she said.

The institution, however, confirmed it will appeal in a statement from the center's vice president of public relations, Roma Daravi: "We intend to appeal today's Court ruling and move forward with recognizing Chairman President Trump's historic contributions to the revitalization of America's Cultural Center."