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. In May, the same judge ordered the removal of Trump's name and blocked its temporary closure for proposed renovations The board, which is chaired by Trump and comprises his cabinet members and allies, approved a resolution in August that called for the inscription "Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump" to be added to the venue.
Trump announced the addition of his name to the institution, among other rebranding measures across the nation's capital, last year. The judge's written order came less than an hour before the centre's board voted on the 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, and there is a chance the centre's doors could stay open despite Tuesday's vote.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the board voted "almost unanimously" to close the storied venue "for safety reasons" and to begin the process of reconstruction. 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. He added that the US Department of Justice will ask for an expedited appeal and that he had raised $17m for the centre to "keep it afloat".
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. Congress approved more than $250m for renovations in Trump's massive spending legislation known as "The Big Beautiful Bill".
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. When he put the block in place, Cooper said the board could return and request it be lifted, provided it had come to the decision to close "in a prudent manner". The justice department is expected to make that request by Friday, CNN reported.
Beatty, an Ohio congresswoman and Democrat, said on Tuesday that the centre had planned to undergo phased renovations for years while still putting on some performances, instead of fully shuttering. She blamed Trump's attempt to rename the centre for the departure of donors, patrons, and artists. "Donald Trump only cares about the Kennedy Center for his vanity," she said in a statement to the BBC.
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