The Kennedy Center board, chaired by President Donald Trump, voted to close the performing arts center for two years despite a US judge blocking Trump's attempt to add his name back to the building. This decision comes after a May ruling that ordered the removal of Trump’s name and blocked temporary closure for renovations; in August, the board approved adding “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” to the venue. While Trump announced he would take legal action up to the Supreme Court if necessary and claimed the closure is due to safety reasons, critics argue that his actions have harmed the institution’s reputation and operations.
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- Published
The Kennedy Center board has voted to close the performing arts centre for two years, just as a US judge blocked it from adding President Donald Trump's name back to the building.
asserted
judge → publish → building
In May, the same judge ordered the removal of Trump's name and blocked its temporary closure for proposed renovations.
uncertain
judge → order → renovations
The board, which is chaired by Trump and includes his cabinet members and allies, approved a resolution in August to add the inscription, "Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump" to the venue.
asserted
which → chair → venue
Trump announced the addition of his name to the institution, among other rebranding measures across the nation's capital, last year.
asserted
Trump → announce → capital
The judge's written order came less than an hour before the centre's board voted on the closure.
asserted
board → write → closure
This was the third time it has approved closing the centre since February, amid legal challenges to Trump's work to take greater control of the institution, but there is a chance the centre's doors could stay open despite Tuesday's vote.
uncertain
doors → approve → vote
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the board voted "almost unanimously" to close the venue "for safety reasons".
asserted
board → write → reasons
While the closing "will take place immediately", Trump said renovations cannot begin until the court "rules on the Board's approved name" and vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court if it is a "negative" ruling.
asserted
it → take → Court
He added that the US Department of Justice would ask for an expedited appeal and that he had raised $17m for the centre to "keep it afloat".
asserted
he → add → it
Also in August, the board approved a resolution to rename the campus the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" if $100m was raised for the renovations.
asserted
m → approve → renovations
Congress has approved more than $250m for renovations, as well.
asserted
Congress → approve → renovations
However, the centre cannot close unless the federal judge, Christopher Cooper, lifts a temporary block that he put in place in May requiring it to stay open while a lawsuit brought by board member Joyce Beatty goes ahead.
uncertain
lawsuit → close → Beatty
Cooper had said the board could return and request the block to be lifted, provided it came to the decision to close "in a prudent manner".
uncertain
it → say → manner
The request is expected to be made by Friday, CNN reported.
asserted
CNN → expect → Friday
Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, said on Tuesday that the centre had planned for years to undergo phased renovations while still putting on some performances, instead of fully shutting.
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centre → say → performances
She blamed Trump's attempted renaming for the departures of audiences and artists, telling the BBC he "only cares about the Kennedy Center for his vanity".
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he → blame → vanity
Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President Kennedy, and I am proud to defend this cherished institution."
asserted
I → establish → institution
In February 2025, Trump replaced several trustees on the board, which then decided in December to rename the institution.
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which → replace → institution
New lettering bearing Trump's full name was affixed to the centre's front portico the following day.
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lettering → bear → portico
The changes were followed by cancellations by artists booked at the venue and a drop in ticket sales.
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changes → follow → sales
Most of the legal challenges to Trump's changes focus on the fact that Congress established the centre as a memorial to President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
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who → focus → 1963
While detractors say that means Congress must approve changes to the memorial, Trump has argued he has the power to act.
asserted
he → say → power
"Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing," Judge Cooper said in his written order on Tuesday.
asserted
Cooper → put → Tuesday
He said the board's proposal to add language to the g name of the centre and its surrounding campus "bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted".
asserted
Congress → say → order
That statute marked a decision by lawmakers to memorialise Kennedy, "and no one else, at the Center bearing his name", the order said.
asserted
order → mark → name
The Kennedy Center administration told the board on Sunday that the arts institution was on the brink of bankruptcy, the Washington Post, external reported, saying the centre was in a "precarious fiscal position" and would not be able to cover payroll obligations and routine maintenance contracts "within a matter of weeks".
asserted
centre → tell → weeks
Trump has said it is "in a virtual state of collapse" and the centre's leadership has said the building is unsafe for continued occupancy, pointing to part of the ceiling falling in recently.
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building → say → ceiling
But others dispute that it must be closed.
asserted
it → dispute → ?
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.
asserted
Center → respond → comment
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