Kennedy Center barricaded after Trump-aligned board pushes controversial closure
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
A fence now surrounds the Kennedy Center's main building after a board dominated by Trump allies voted to shut down most of the venue, sparking a legal challenge from a Democratic trustee who denounced the move as an illegal power grab.
On Wednesday, fencing was installed around the main structure of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following a board decision—driven by members aligned with President Donald Trump—to close most of the facility for supposed repairs. This abrupt action came just one day after a federal judge blocked the board’s attempt to plaster Trump’s name on the building, a move widely criticized as an affront to the Center's legacy.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio board member, immediately filed an emergency petition in federal court, condemning the shutdown as 'unlawful' and seeking to keep the Center open to the public. Beatty has been a vocal opponent of the right-wing scheme to rename the Center after Trump, which many see as an attempt to erase the institution’s progressive history.
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi, who ignored requests for comment, instead took to social media to justify the closure by citing a recent ceiling collapse and so-called 'long-standing infrastructure problems.' Critics argue these issues are being exaggerated to justify the board’s undemocratic actions.
In August, the board—pushing a Trumpist agenda—approved proposals to rename the Center’s façade and plaza after Trump, contingent on a $100 million fundraising goal. However, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper struck down these plans, affirming that any such name change requires congressional approval, not the whims of a partisan board.
Grassroots activists from Hands Off the Arts have raised alarms that the closure could pave the way for further destruction of the building, warning that the board’s actions threaten the very soul of this cultural landmark, even as no official demolition plans have been announced.