Trump’s Kennedy Center crisis erupts as board votes to shut down iconic venue
WASHINGTON, DC: The Kennedy Center board voted Tuesday, September 15, to close the iconic Washington performing arts institution, hours after a federal judge blocked its latest attempt to put President Donald Trump’s name on the building or grounds.
The extraordinary sequence unfolded as the center faces mounting financial pressure and a legal fight over an institution Congress established as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick participated in the board meeting, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Closure vote lands amid legal clash
The board’s decision came on the same day U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper rejected the latest naming proposals.
Cooper said the trustees could not create memorials for Trump or anyone else at the Kennedy Center without congressional approval.
The ruling followed a May decision in which Cooper found that only Congress could authorize a change to the center’s name after Trump’s name had been added to the facade.
The board later covered the disputed signage with a large tarp after the court ordered its removal.
Board tied Trump recognition to funding
The latest dispute centered on proposed inscriptions that would credit Trump for renovations and fundraising.
One option would have described the restoration as overseen by Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund, while another proposed thanking him and the fund for their support.
The board’s filing argued that without “appropriate recognition,” Trump was unlikely to provide the oversight and financial backing it said were necessary to rescue the institution.
The Trump Kennedy Center Fund has been discussed in connection with a potential $100 million fundraising threshold.
Cooper rejected the board’s effort to distinguish the proposals from a formal renaming, saying the government was effectively trying to use different wording to achieve the same result.
He also urged both sides to consider the broader public interest.
Financial crisis now reaches audiences
The closure vote follows warnings that the center is facing severe financial problems and could become insolvent.
The institution has reported weaker ticket sales, fundraising difficulties and declining activity since Trump took control of its board earlier this year.
The center has remained a major national venue for theater, dance, music and other performances, hosting artists from across the country and abroad.
Its closure would affect scheduled performances, employees, artists, vendors and patrons who depend on the venue.
The judge’s ruling means any permanent change to the center’s name or creation of a Trump memorial will require Congress to act.
