GOP Sen. Mike Lee Blocks Bill that Would Stop President Trump from Demolishing Collapsing Kennedy Center

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) blocked a bill from Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would stop President Donald Trump from demolishing the crumbling Kennedy Center.

The bill would prevent the demolition of any presidential memorial, including the Kennedy Center, which the Trump administration has been fighting to renovate. The Trump administration has warned in legal filings that the building may eventually need to be demolished if it is not renovated. The venue was closed in early September after part of the ceiling collapsed in the Grand Foyer.

The senators sought on Monday evening to pass their bill by unanimous consent, which is a procedure that permits an action or motion to continue unless one senator objects, The Washington Post reported. 

Merkley and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) said on Tuesday that are not backing down and will try to get their bill passed in the House and Senate. Merkley and Murkowski lead the appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Kennedy Center.

“Fears that the Kennedy Center could be demolished have grown in recent weeks. The Trump administration had previously described demolition as a hypothetical consequence of failing to renovate the 55-year-old building,” according to the report.

“In an August court filing, Justice Department lawyers representing the center argued that, without Trump’s leadership, fundraising, and proposed renovation, the building would deteriorate into an ‘unsafe, decrepit structure’ that would eventually be ‘required to be taken down,”‘ the report continues. “They floated replacing it with a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River, while acknowledging that such a replacement would ‘fail to adequately honor’ President John F. Kennedy.”

The leaders of the Kennedy Center said in court that the building will not be torn down. A judge has ordered center leadership to give the court 30 days’ notice if it ever plans a demolition.