Trump admin considers closing Kennedy Center after court setback

WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration is once again considering closing the Kennedy Center for performing arts for renovation work, weeks after a federal judge ruled that the institution’s board improperly voted to shut down for restoration.

In a setback to the Trump administration, Cooper, in a previous ruling, had observed that the center could not be closed for the planned refurbishment work, starting on July 5. In the same ruling, the judge had asked the center’s administration to remove Trump’s name from the center.

Kennedy Center weighs full or partial closure plans

Despite a previous ruling by US District Judge Christopher Cooper that the center remains open, the federal administration, in a court filing on Friday, June 19, expressed its intent to reconsider the closure options.

At the hearing, the judge had sought more details about planned renovations and scheduled programming at the center by Friday.

Sharing details of the renovation plan, the Center’s Executive Director Matt Floca has come up with three options to carry out the planned construction work.

In the court filing on Friday, Floca said that management plans to present the board with three options: “complete closure” with “no ongoing programming,” “partial closure” with “limited programming,” or “phased closures” and a “full slate of programming.”

“The Center continues to prepare for additional capital repair and construction activities,” government attorneys wrote in the filing.

Court order allows renovations despite ongoing dispute

The filing noted that Cooper’s order did not block the center from closing for renovations altogether, nor did it require them to reschedule canceled programming.

While the performing arts center’s board has yet to approve the timeline of renovation, the administration said it expects construction work to take place between July and December.

“Defendants will expeditiously address any remaining uses of the president’s name if and when they become aware of their existence,” the administration wrote in the filing, highlighting the administration’s compliance with Cooper’s order.

Joyce Beatty says government wants 'lifeless husk' center

Attorneys for Kennedy Center ex officio board member Rep Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said the administration’s filing “confirms that they plan to turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk.”

Rep Beatty brought the original lawsuit against the administration. 

“As things stand now, absent action on Defendants’ part, the Kennedy Center will have no meaningful operations after July 5, 2026,” her attorneys wrote.

“Defendants are thus following through with, and continuing to implement, their existing plans to close the Center, contrary to the Court’s preliminary injunction order,” they added.