Trump Administration Warns Kennedy Center Could Face Demolition Without $250 Million Renovation
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In a court filing, lawyers for President Donald Trump argued that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts must undergo a $250 million renovation or risk being deemed unsafe and slated for demolition.
Lawyers representing President Donald Trump told a federal court on Monday that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., requires a $250 million renovation to address safety concerns. They warned that without the work, the facility could deteriorate to the point where demolition would be necessary, and a new outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River has been suggested as a possible replacement.
The filing coincides with the administration’s request that a judge reject a legal challenge to a proposal to add the president’s name to the center’s signage. A May ruling by Judge Christopher Cooper had affirmed that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center’s name, leading to the removal of Trump’s name from the building’s facade in June.
Board members, many appointed by the president, voted 20-3 in August to modify the signage to read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” and to rename the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” The administration argues that the added wording does not alter the official name and is comparable to donor acknowledgments at other cultural institutions.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democratic member of the Kennedy Center board, filed a request to stop the name change. Her attorney, Nathaniel Zelinsky, described the demolition threat as “legally baseless” and suggested it appeared to be written personally by the president. A hearing on Beatty’s injunction request is scheduled for Thursday.
The Kennedy Center, established by Congress in 1971 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, has hosted a wide range of performers. Ticket sales have reportedly declined since the board’s recent decisions regarding the center’s name and signage.