Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio board member of the Kennedy Center and one of the lawmakers challenging President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the institution, has criticized the board’s decision to immediately shut down the performing arts center, signaling that the latest development could become part of the ongoing legal battle over the institution’s leadership and name.
The Kennedy Center board voted Tuesday to close the center immediately, according to media reports and a statement from Trump. The board said the closure would allow work to begin on renovations and cited safety concerns. The decision came just hours after a federal judge issued an injunction blocking the board from adding Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center building.
The dispute over the center’s name is already the subject of a lawsuit brought by Beatty. Earlier this year, the board added Trump’s name to the institution despite opposition from Beatty and others. Beatty subsequently challenged the move in court and has also sought an order preventing the center from being closed.
Following Tuesday’s shutdown vote, Beatty indicated that she could return to court to challenge the latest action.
“For years, the Kennedy Center has planned to undergo phased renovations, in which we both renovate and maintain some performances,” Beatty said in a statement Tuesday. She argued that major performing arts institutions routinely conduct renovations while continuing to operate.
Beatty also criticized the impact of the attempted name change, claiming that donors, patrons and artists had left the institution following the effort to rename the memorial after Trump. She described the Kennedy Center as a significant national institution established by Congress as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
Beatty further accused Trump of being motivated by personal considerations and argued that his involvement with the institution raised questions about his responsibilities as a trustee. Those statements represent Beatty’s position in the ongoing dispute and have not been established as findings by the court.
Her attorneys also sharply criticized Tuesday’s closure decision. Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer representing Beatty through Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky of Washington Litigation Group said the shutdown was another example of what they characterized as mismanagement under the center’s current leadership.
“The Board’s latest shutdown vote is more of the same failure and abuse that has characterized this administration’s treatment of the Kennedy Center,” the attorneys said. They argued that the attempted renaming had driven audiences and artists away and accused the board of using the closure to conceal what they described as poor management.
The attorneys said they expected to continue the fight in court, adding that they would challenge the defendants over the latest actions involving the institution.
Trump, meanwhile, defended the board’s decision in a post on Truth Social. He said the board, which he selected and which subsequently elected him chairman, had voted for the immediate closure because of safety concerns and to begin what he described as “large and very complex” renovations.
Trump also addressed the federal court’s decision blocking the addition of his name to the Kennedy Center. He said he planned to appeal the ruling and linked the future renovations to the outcome of the naming dispute.
“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,” Trump wrote.
The competing statements highlight the two central disputes surrounding the Kennedy Center: whether the board had the authority to change the institution’s name and how the center should proceed with renovations while legal challenges remain unresolved.
The Kennedy Center has historically undergone maintenance and renovation projects while continuing to present performances, according to Beatty. Her argument is that the center could follow a phased renovation model rather than completely shutting down its operations.
Trump and the board, however, have presented the immediate closure as necessary for safety and major construction work. The precise scope and timing of the planned renovations, as well as how the shutdown will affect programming, patrons, artists and staff, remain central issues as the legal dispute continues.
Tuesday’s developments therefore add another layer to an already contentious fight over the future of one of the United States’ most prominent performing arts institutions. With Beatty and her legal team signaling that they intend to challenge the shutdown, the Kennedy Center’s closure could now become part of the broader court proceedings over Trump’s actions at the institution.
