Kennedy Center board votes to close over finances, Trump dispute
The board of the Kennedy Center voted Tuesday to close over financial issues and a dispute over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the performing arts venue, according to people familiar with the matter. The closure comes as the board has struggled with funding for renovations it says are desperately needed.
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick participated in the board meeting, one of the people said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a private meeting.
Prior to Tuesday’s board meeting, a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center board from adding Trump’s name to the structure or grounds, ruling it would violate an earlier finding that his name was illegally added to the building.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that “Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”
After the board added Trump’s name above Kennedy’s, Cooper ruled in May that only Congress can approve changes to the Kennedy Center’s name. The board responded by erecting an elevated tarp that obscures Trump’s name and most of Kennedy’s.
The board had recently floated multiple options for getting Trump’s name on the grounds, including inscriptions like “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Another option: “With Gratitude for Support from President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
The board’s proposal states that “without such appropriate recognition” it is unlikely that Trump will financially support the renovations.
Cooper, in his Tuesday ruling, wrote that “the government plays word games.”
