The Kennedy Center’s board voted Tuesday to immediately close the performing arts venue’s main building, hours after a federal judge blocked its latest attempt to add President Donald Trump’s name to the institution.
The closure cannot take effect unless U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper lifts an existing injunction, the Los Angeles Times reported. Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex-officio board member, is seeking emergency relief to prevent the shutdown.
The Trump-appointed board approved the closure as part of a planned two-year, $250 million renovation. It cited the institution’s worsening financial condition and structural problems that it said threatened staff and public safety.
A resolution circulated before the vote warned that the Kennedy Center was in such a precarious financial position that it could become unable to meet payroll or pay for routine maintenance within weeks.
Beatty’s attorneys disputed the board’s justification, arguing that it misrepresented the findings of consultants who assessed the building. They said Delta Consulting Group had expressly declined to conclude that the main building was “unsafe for continued occupancy.”
The safety debate intensified Monday when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shared footage of part of the center’s ceiling collapsing. Lutnick said failing roofing, concrete supports and steel had created “completely unsafe conditions” and argued that the building needed to close.
The board’s resolution also tied the center’s financial future to formally recognizing Trump. It suggested the president might not continue overseeing the renovation or provide the institution with a “financial rescue” unless his contributions were acknowledged on its facade.
Cooper ruled earlier Tuesday that the board could not install an inscription crediting Trump with restoring and renovating the center or rename the surrounding grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper wrote.
Trump blasted the ruling in a Truth Social post Tuesday, calling Cooper “very hostile and conflicted” and claiming the Kennedy Center was “in a virtual state of collapse.” He said the decision would be appealed and argued that the building needed to close for a complete renovation.
The board previously voted in August to proceed with the renovation and pursue new ways to recognize Trump. Tuesday’s vote formalized the closure plan and called for the main building to shut down immediately, subject to Cooper lifting the injunction.
During the closure, the Kennedy Center would continue presenting some educational and artistic programming at its newer Reach expansion and other locations. The Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize for American Humor would move offsite, while the National Symphony Orchestra would continue performing at alternate venues.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
