A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from putting his name on the Kennedy Center, and within hours the president was on the phone with its board, arguing with a Democratic congresswoman and warning that a $257 million renovation would not happen if the courts ultimately ruled against him.
The extraordinary day at one of Washington’s most recognizable cultural institutions ended with another major decision. The Kennedy Center board voted to close the main building for up to two years for repairs and renovations.
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote.
Cooper’s ruling prevented the board from carving Trump’s name into the center’s marble facade and from naming the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, and Cooper ruled in May that its board could not rename the institution without congressional approval.
The board tried another approach. In August, it voted to add an inscription reading “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” Later, court documents revealed 10 possible inscriptions under consideration, including language crediting Trump’s “generosity” and “unwavering support.”
Cooper rejected the attempt, writing that Congress did not intend for the board to “auction off naming rights to constituent parts of the campus.”
Trump joined this week’s board meeting by phone. Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat whose lawsuit challenged the renaming, said the president verbally attacked her after losing the court case, calling her “dumb” and “incompetent.”
“He threw a tantrum because he lost in court,” Beatty told reporters.
The board voted to close the main building for up to two years to complete a $257 million renovation. Kennedy Center documents reportedly have described severe financial problems, warning that the institution could be unable to pay employees or meet maintenance contract obligations within weeks. Center officials have also cited water intrusion and building deterioration, including a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer.
Trump then tied the renovation to the fight over his name. He said the work would not proceed if the ruling against the Kennedy Center withstands its appeals.
The Kennedy Center appealed Cooper’s decision this week, and Beatty said she intends to keep fighting in court.
“We will go back to court as much as we need to,” she said, “because what he is proposing is unlawful and he just shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.”
