The Kennedy Center board, chaired by President Trump, voted to close the performing-arts venue for two years after a federal judge blocked adding Mr. Trump’s name and placed a temporary injunction preventing a full shutdown. The closure cannot take effect until the injunction is lifted; the board is expected to ask the court to do so. Legal disputes focus on a statute designating the centre as a memorial to John F. Kennedy and whether the board can rename or add memorial language without Congress.
Kennedy Center Board Votes To Close After Judge Blocks Adding Trump’s Name
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The board that oversees the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — chaired by President Donald J. Trump — voted to close the venue for two years after a federal judge barred the institution from restoring Mr. Trump’s name to the building and from installing related memorial language.
In May the same federal judge ordered the removal of Mr. Trump’s name and imposed a temporary injunction that prevents a full shutdown while litigation proceeds. The board had approved in August a resolution to add the inscription "Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump" to the centre; Mr. Trump announced the planned rebranding last year. The judge’s written order was issued less than an hour before the board met and voted to close the centre.
This was the third time the board has voted to close the Kennedy Center since February amid legal challenges to the board’s rebranding and governance changes, but the closure cannot take effect while the judge’s temporary injunction remains in place. Federal Judge Christopher Cooper has said the board may return and request that the injunction be lifted if the decision to close is reached "in a prudent manner." Reports say the board is expected to ask the court to lift the block by Friday.
Posting on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the board voted "almost unanimously" to close the venue "for safety reasons" and that the shutdown "will take place immediately." He added that renovations cannot begin until the courts resolve the dispute over the board-approved inscription, that the Department of Justice would seek an expedited appeal, and that he had raised $17 million to "keep it afloat." He also said he would take an adverse ruling to the US Supreme Court if necessary.
In August the board approved a conditional plan to rename the campus the "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" if $100 million were raised to fund renovations. Congress has separately approved more than $250 million for upgrades to the centre. The board’s actions followed a trustee reshuffle in February 2025 and a December vote to change the institution’s name; new lettering with Mr. Trump’s full name was affixed to the front portico the following day. Those changes prompted some artists to cancel appearances and coincided with a drop in ticket sales.
Legal Issues Center On Kennedy Memorial Status
Most of the legal challenges hinge on the fact that Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Opponents argue statutory protections mean Congress, not the board, must approve any changes that alter the memorial’s dedication. In his written order, Judge Cooper wrote:
"Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."
The judge added that the board’s proposal to add language to the centre’s name and to rename portions of the campus "bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted," intended to memorialise only President Kennedy "at the Center bearing his name."
Financial And Safety Concerns
According to the Washington Post, Kennedy Center administrators told the board that the institution was in a "precarious fiscal position" and would be unable to meet payroll and routine maintenance obligations "within a matter of weeks." Mr. Trump described the centre as being "in a virtual state of collapse," and the organisation’s leadership has pointed to a recent incident in which part of the ceiling fell as evidence the building is unsafe for continued occupancy. Others — including some board members and artists — dispute that an immediate, full closure is necessary and say phased renovations could allow performances to continue.
Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and Kennedy Center board member who filed suit, said the centre had planned for phased renovations while still staging some performances and accused Mr. Trump of acting from "vanity" rather than in the institution’s best interests. Beatty described the renaming effort as a breach of fiduciary duty and said she will defend the memorial established by Congress.
The next legal steps include a likely board request to Judge Cooper to lift the injunction; media reports say that filing was expected by Friday. The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
Reporting referenced: BBC, CNN, The Washington Post.
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