Key facts
- A U.S. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to explain plans for the Kennedy Center's closure for repairs.
- The closure plan is for up to two years and is part of a $257 million renovation project.
- U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty argues the board's vote to proceed violates a prior court order.
- Judge Christopher Cooper previously ruled that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center's name.
- The judge had previously blocked a shutdown, calling the decision a "dereliction of the trustees’ duty of prudence."
A U.S. federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to explain whether the Kennedy Center's plan to close the performing arts venue for up to two years for repairs violates a prior court order. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper directed the administration to respond by Thursday to claims in a lawsuit filed by Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty.
Beatty argued in a court filing on Wednesday that the board's vote on Tuesday to proceed with the $257 million renovation project contravenes the court's prior ruling. The Kennedy Center board is chaired by President Donald Trump and controlled by his appointees. Beatty stated that the center is no longer accessible to the public during normal operating hours, with new barriers visible outside the building on Wednesday.
Beatty's lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, said in a statement, “In this country, no one — including the president — is above the law.” The White House, the Kennedy Center, and the Justice Department, which is defending the center in court, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The closure vote is the latest development in Beatty's lawsuit, filed last year over Trump's effort to rename the center after himself. Cooper's ruling in May directed the Kennedy Center to remove Trump's name from the building's facade, stating only Congress can change the name. The ruling also blocked the center's earlier plan to shut down in July for renovation, which Cooper described as "taken in dereliction of the trustees’ duty of prudence." He stated he would not block the board from trying again to close the center as long as it made a "considered, independent decision."
In a new ruling on Tuesday, Cooper rejected the center’s latest effort to put Trump’s name on the building to reflect his role in the planned renovation. The administration has appealed this decision, and Trump stated on social media that the Kennedy Center "is destined to doom" if it is not permitted to close for repairs.