Kennedy Center board votes to close for renovations after US judge blocks Trump’s name from facade

WASHINGTON - The board of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts voted on Sept 15 to shut down the centre for repairs, a source familiar with the matter said, shortly after a federal judge blocked the centre from adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building facade for a second time.

The centre’s board of trustees, which is made up of Trump appointees with Trump himself serving as chairman, has said the iconic performing arts centre is in dire need of immediate repairs and approved a plan backed by the president as part of his expansive campaign to remake America’s capital city.

In a social media post on Sept 15, Trump shared video of what was described as corrosion and deterioration around the building.

“We have already wasted more than 6 months ‘playing around’ in Court,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Earlier in the day, US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington issued an order temporarily halting the centre’s latest proposal to put Trump’s name on the memorial to Kennedy, the US president who was assassinated in 1963.

In addition, Cooper said the centre’s board cannot proceed with plans to rename the campus where it sits the “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’ blessing,” Cooper wrote.

The board has argued that adding Trump’s name in honour of his efforts was necessary to ensure his continued commitment to its survival.

“The Board understands that without such appropriate recognition it is unlikely that President Trump will provide the fundamental oversight of the renovation of the main building and lead the fiscal rescue of the Center,” the board wrote in a draft resolution ahead of the meeting.

Trump’s campaign to remake the centre is part of his broader effort to leave his cultural and aesthetic mark on the US capital, including a large new ballroom to replace the White House East Wing he ordered demolished, a troubled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and a planned “triumphal arch” near the nation’s main cemetery honouring its war dead.

Sept 15’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty, who serves on the centre’s board by virtue of her position in Congress. Trump has told the centre’s lawyers he plans to appeal the ruling, the source familiar with the matter said.

Second ruling from judge

Cooper had previously ordered the center in May to remove Trump’s name from the building after the centre changed its marble facade in December to read “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

At that time, Cooper also blocked the centre from closing down, finding that the board had not adequately considered the consequences.

Workers stripped Trump’s name from the centre in June and left the exterior masked by scaffolding and a white tarpaulin.

In a vote on Aug 13, the board signed off on the addition of an inscription honouring Trump and renaming the centre’s plaza after Trump.

The 10 options for how the president’s inscription could be rendered included: “A Legacy protected through the Generosity of President Donald J. Trump” and “Renovation, Restoration, and support by President Donald J. Trump.”

The draft resolution also said the centre’s finances are dire, and it will be unable to honour its payroll obligations or routine maintenance contracts “within a matter of weeks.”

After Trump began exerting more direct control over the Kennedy Center in 2025, artists cancelled performances in protest, the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra were forced to find other venues, and revenue cratered. REUTERS