A federal judge is requiring Kennedy Center officials to give more than 30 days’ notice before demolishing the building or making other major changes, after Rep. Joyce Beatty cited photographs of President Donald Trump examining a printout whose partially visible title appeared to read “Kennedy Center DEMOLIS[HED].” Trump had said hours earlier that the center could eventually be “ripped down” without his intervention.
The White House did not answer Thursday when asked whether Trump is considering demolition.
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Judge sets 30-day requirement
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued the order Thursday after Beatty, D-Ohio, asked him to clarify whether his existing injunction would prevent the center’s demolition.
Cooper declined her request for an emergency hearing but ordered the center to file a detailed status report by Sept. 23. He also required more than 30 days’ notice before officials change construction plans, including any plan for demolition.
Beatty is a Kennedy Center trustee who is suing other members of the board. Her lawyers cited photographs taken Wednesday aboard Air Force One showing Trump looking at a large printout with the beginning of a title reading “Kennedy Center DEMOLIS.”
The rest of the document was obscured, and the photographs alone do not establish whether Trump is considering demolishing the center.
Trump told reporters earlier Wednesday that his administration deserved recognition for its work on the building, saying that without its intervention, the center would close and “end up being ripped down.”
Officials call current closure temporary
The Kennedy Center’s main building closed Wednesday, following a Tuesday vote by its Trump-aligned board to close the center for renovations. Officials told Cooper on Thursday that the shutdown currently in effect is separate from the board’s longer-term plan.
Executive Director Matt Floca said he independently ordered most public areas closed for at least seven days because structural deterioration created “acute risks to public safety.” The decision followed an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse earlier this month.
Beatty’s lawyers argue the temporary shutdown is a pretext for carrying out the longer closure before Cooper allows it. Kennedy Center officials say the two decisions are separate.
Hands Off the Arts is also planning a protest outside the Kennedy Center on Friday evening, followed by a human chain around the building. Organizers said they will protest Trump’s changes to the center, the removal and censorship of art and the possibility of the building’s demolition.
Judge blocks Trump naming plan
Cooper on Tuesday blocked the board from moving forward with plans to returnTrump’s name to the building, ruling again that trustees cannot create a memorial to Trump at the Kennedy Center without congressional approval.
Congress has allocated $257 million for repairs, but Trump has said the renovation will proceed only if the board allows him to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.
