Trump Administration Says It May Demolish Kennedy Center If Court Blocks Renovations

## Topline

The Kennedy Center urged a judge in a court filing not to block its attempt to renovate the venue and inscribe President Donald Trump's name on it, warning the "unsafe, decrepit structure" may need to be "taken down" if the plan is blocked because the administration claims some donors will only contribute funds if Trump is recognized.

## Key Facts

The Kennedy Center filed a response overnight opposing a motion previously filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, which urged a court to block the planned inscription of Trump's name on the venue's front portico.

In the filing, the Trump administration argues Kennedy Center donors will only contribute money if Trump's name is affixed to the venue, without which the institution may need to be "taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site."

The Kennedy Center's filing argues the inscription, which would honor Trump for restoring and renovating the venue, does not amount to a renaming of the Kennedy Center, which a judge previously ruled cannot be done without an act of Congress.

The filing also argues the Kennedy Center has the right to name the grounds surrounding the venue "President Donald J. Trump Plaza," saying there is no statute governing the naming of the area.

The Kennedy Center argued its various efforts to honor Trump are necessary, saying the venue "cannot survive" without Trump and his fundraising efforts, praising his "unrivaled expertise and experience in real estate and construction, and prominence as President."

The filing also claims Beatty, who is an ex-officio non-voting member of the Kennedy Center's board, said she had "no objection" to naming the grounds after Trump at an August board meeting, questioning her legal standing to challenge the naming.

In a meeting earlier this month, the Kennedy Center board voted to add an inscription on the front portico that reads, "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump," and a second inscription that reads, "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund," if the fund raises more than $100 million.

At that meeting, the Kennedy Center board also voted to close for renovations for two years, months after a judge blocked the center's initial closure plan in May, during which the main building will be closed and programming will be moved elsewhere.

## what to watch for

Both parties are expected to meet in court for a hearing on Beatty's motion to block the inscription of Trump's name Thursday, according to a judge's order. Prior to the hearing, Beatty faces a Wednesday deadline to file a response to the Kennedy Center's latest filing.

## Kennedy Center Calls Trump Its 'Sole Hope' For Survival

The Kennedy Center's filing painted a dire portrait of the performing arts venue's financial and structural health, claiming the building is "dangerously dilapidated, outdated, and decrepit," and that its financial woes have left the center in a state of "terminal decline." The filing says the Kennedy Center had been losing tens of millions of dollars per year for decades, until Trump obtained funding from Congress—a reference to $257 million allocated to the Kennedy Center in the "One Big Beautiful Bill"—to fund "desperately needed structural improvements." "The Board recognizes that President Trump's efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center's financial survival, and structural renewal," the filing says.

## contra

Though the Kennedy Center has repeatedly credited Trump for saving the institution, a Washington Post investigation published Tuesday morning found ticket sales and donations "plunged" after the institution's board voted to rename the venue after Trump. "The center took a huge hit when the takeover happened," an unnamed official familiar with the Kennedy Center's finances told the Post, saying it faced an "absolute fiscal cliff." The center had initially budgeted for $220 million in revenue for fiscal year 2026, but by May, it had revised those expectations to just $124 million in revenue, the Post reported. In response to the Post, a Kennedy Center spokesperson claimed its inherited financial woes from prior mismanagement.

## Beatty Urges Court To Block Inscription Of Trump's Name

In a motion filed late last week, Beatty asked the court to block the inscription of Trump's name on the Kennedy Center's front portico, calling the plan a "breathtaking act of defiance of Congress and of this Court." She cites a May ruling by judge Christopher R. Cooper, who ruled the Kennedy Center cannot rename itself after Trump because federal law designates the ability to name the center to Congress, not the venue's board of trustees. Beatty's motion alleged the move is an "unlawful attempt to memorialize President Trump by returning his name to the portico and grounds where this Court held it does not belong."

## tangent

The Kennedy Center's latest filing makes no mention of the tarps that have blocked the venue's sign from public view for more than two months. In Beatty's motion, she alleged the tarps still stand in "defiance of the judicial process" while "obscuring President Kennedy's name on the portico of the institution that is meant to memorialize him." The Kennedy Center claimed in a filing last week the tarps are necessary for "ongoing construction," but did not offer a timeline for removal.