The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts closed its main building to the public after its board voted to shut the venue immediately for renovations. The Kennedy Center closure unfolded just hours after a federal judge rejected another effort to place Donald Trump’s name on the building, creating a fast-moving mix of safety concerns, financial warnings and an escalating court dispute over the future of one of Washington’s best-known cultural institutions.
According to Reuters, the board voted September 15 to close the main building for what has been described as a renovation project costing roughly $257 million and potentially lasting as long as two years. Trump serves as chairman of the Kennedy Center board. Reuters reported that the vote came less than two hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued another order blocking efforts to put Trump’s name on the building or rename its grounds in his honor.
According to CBS News, Cooper ruled that the board could not move forward with a proposed inscription crediting Trump for restoring the Kennedy Center. The judge wrote, “Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.” The decision followed Cooper’s May ruling that the earlier addition of Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center was unlawful. Trump’s name was subsequently removed from the facade in June.
The board returned to the issue on August 13, approving a proposal for a new inscription honoring Trump and a separate plan to rename the surrounding campus the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” Cooper’s September 15 order blocked both proposals. The latest ruling means the Kennedy Center closure is now unfolding separately from the board’s effort to recognize Trump on the building, even though Trump has directly connected the renovation project to the outcome of the naming dispute.
Safety concerns are another major part of the board’s case for closing the main building. A draft resolution published by The Washington Post said additional water intrusion and deterioration had contributed to a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer, with debris falling from roughly 60 feet above. The resolution called for the building to close to patrons while repair and restoration work moved forward. However, attorneys for Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio Kennedy Center trustee who is challenging the board in court, have disputed how the safety evidence has been characterized. The Los Angeles Times reported that Beatty’s lawyers said consulting firm Delta Consulting Group had not concluded that the building was unsafe for continued occupancy.
The Kennedy Center closure also does not mean every program connected to the institution is ending. The board’s draft resolution said the main building would close to patrons, while educational and artistic programming could continue at the REACH. It also called for continued support of National Symphony Orchestra performances at other venues and for signature events, including the Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, to continue off-site.
Trump addressed the shutdown and the naming dispute in a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday.
“The Board of The Kennedy Center today agreed, almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons, and so that it can begin the process of Reconstruction. The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name. If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place. The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal. In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.
CBS News confirmed that Trump said the renovation would wait until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reviews the dispute. CBS also reported that Trump claimed to have raised $17 million for the Kennedy Center, but said the source of those donations had not been disclosed and that it was unclear from publicly available information where the money was going. That distinction is important because the $17 million figure in Trump’s post remains his claim rather than an independently detailed fundraising disclosure in the reporting reviewed.
The appeal process has already started. A September 15 Justice Department court filing shows that defendants formally notified the U.S. District Court that they were appealing Cooper’s latest order to the D.C. Circuit. The one-page notice confirms the appeal but does not itself contain a request for expedited handling, although Trump said in his Truth Social post that Justice Department attorneys would seek an expedited appeal.
The Kennedy Center closure also faces a separate legal question. In a statement released after the board vote, Beatty’s legal team argued that a preliminary injunction Cooper issued in May still prevents the Kennedy Center from closing unless the judge lifts that restriction. That is the position of Beatty and her attorneys, while the board has moved ahead with its latest vote and the main building has already closed to the public. The dispute over whether the newest vote can overcome or satisfy the earlier injunction is likely to remain part of the litigation.
According to Reuters, the board has also warned that the Kennedy Center faces severe financial pressure, including the possibility of struggling to meet payroll and maintenance obligations within weeks. Those warnings have become part of the argument for urgent action, while Beatty and her attorneys continue to challenge both the board’s decision-making and its interpretation of the center’s condition.
For audiences, artists and employees, the immediate reality is narrower than simply saying the entire Kennedy Center has disappeared. The main building is closed to patrons, some programming is expected to continue elsewhere, and the reconstruction itself has not begun. The next major turn in the Kennedy Center closure will come through the D.C. Circuit, where the Justice Department is now appealing the order that keeps Trump’s name off the building.
