A Democratic lawmaker sued President Donald Trump Friday for his closure of the Kennedy Center, warning that he may have plans to demolish the building for good.
Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who is a full member of the Board of Trustees at the Kennedy Center, called out the president for his “unlawful renaming” of the building and for his decision to rebuild without consulting the appropriate regulatory entities.
The congresswoman also filed for a temporary restraining order against the president to prevent him from excluding her from a board meeting scheduled for March 16. At this meeting the board is expected to decide whether or not to approve Trump’s plan to close the center this summer.
“On February 1, 2026, after weeks of bad press and mounting criticism,
President Trump abruptly announced on Truth Social that he had decided to close the Kennedy Center for approximately two years, starting July 2026,” the filing reads. “The timing alone suggests that decision is meant to hide how this once great institution is failing as a direct result of President Trump’s unlawful effort to rename the Kennedy Center for himself.”
The suit also warned that closing the center will further harm its reputation and will affect not only the Kennedy family but also the staff and performers, who call it home.
“Once the Kennedy Center implements a winddown and closure, it will be extremely difficult to revive the institution, even if the Court orders Defendants to do so later,” the suit continues. “Performances will move elsewhere, staff will depart, and the Center’s reputation will be harmed.”
Beatty sued last year to remove Trump’s name from the center. The lawmaker said that she was present online for the meeting but was muted and not allowed to voice her dissent. She is now seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the closure of the center.
“Congress has not authorized either closing the Center or conducting a ‘complete rebuilding,’” the suit reads. “Meanwhile, despite President Trump’s claim that his plans are ‘totally subject to Board approval,’ he announced the Center’s ‘rebuilding’ and its two-year closure without consulting the Board or providing it any materials.”
The president announced the center’s closing for a two-year renovation in a Truth Social post Feb. 1. The pause comes after several artists canceled performances at the center after Trump’s forceful takeover and following the Kennedy Center Honors’ lowest viewership to date.
Trump’s plans for after the Kennedy Center’s scheduled closure in July are yet to be finalized. Beatty expressed fears in her filing that the center, which opened as a living memorial for former President John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1971, will suffer the same fate as the East Wing of the White House.
Beatty noted that the East Wing was torn down “without warning and without required regulatory approvals.”
“The same pattern is playing out here: public assurances that the current building will be preserved, followed by statements that are inconsistent with preservation, in the context of an established practice of proceeding without regulatory approval,” the lawsuit states.
Trump previously stated that the $200 million will keep the steel structure for the building and redo the rest.
The late President Kennedy’s family were among the many figures decrying the construction project, among them Jack Schlossberg, Maria Shriver and Joe Kennedy III.
