Kennedy Center board votes to close main building for renovations

The Kennedy Center board voted Tuesday to immediately close the venue’s main building for renovations, according to a source familiar with the decision. The board, which was handpicked by President Trump, argues that only Trump can raise enough money to keep the performing arts center from fiscal collapse.

The vote comes after officials indicated the center faces “certain fiscal collapse within weeks,” with a draft resolution describing it as on the brink of bankruptcy, soon unable to make payroll or routine maintenance contracts.

The board also said the building was “unsafe for continued occupancy,” pointing to a recent water leak that caused a partial collapse of the grand foyer ceiling.

Trump said after the vote that the closure “will take place immediately” but that the work can’t be done until the D.C. Circuit rules on the center’s name change to include his name.

“If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal.”

“In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat,” he added.

Trump called into the vote, a White House official said, during which he “verbally berated” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), according to her legal team. Beatty, an ex-officio board member, initially sued last December to block the renaming and closure plans.

“For years, the Kennedy Center has planned to undergo phased renovations, in which we both renovate and maintain some performances. This is how major performing arts centers in the country operate. But donors, patrons, and artists all fled after the unlawful attempt to rename this sacred memorial after Donald Trump,” she said. “Donald Trump only cares about the Kennedy Center for his vanity. That is wrong and it is a breach of his fiduciary duty as a trustee.”

Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the center, said the decision “reflects sound judgment and a clear prioritization of safety above all else.”

“As the main building closes for urgent renovations , long overdue and desperately needed to protect the safety of patrons, artists and staff , the Center remains committed to pursuing a safe and efficient renovation through all legal means,” she said in a statement.

Minutes before the vote was scheduled to take place, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper again blocked the board’s attempt to add Trump’s name to the facade. It was the second time that the judge found the board’s action was likely unlawful.

“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper wrote. “The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”

Daravi said the center intends to “move forward with recognizing Chairman President Trump’s historic contributions to the revitalization of America’s Cultural Center.” The ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The resolutions point to Trump’s fundraising skills as the center’s only saving grace. The board of trustees was restructured by the president last February, when he fired half the board and installed 14 new members.

“The Board understands that without such appropriate recognition it is unlikely that President Trump will provide the fundamental oversight of the renovation of the main building and lead the fiscal rescue of the Center,” the resolution stated.

Justice Department attorneys, who are representing the Kennedy Center in the ongoing legal challenge, told Cooper during a hearing last month that the center was in “structural and financial disarray,” arguing further court intervention would impede the renovation project.

Cooper rejected that notion as “not quite fair,” noting that his initial order in late May allowed “necessary maintenance and repair work” to continue.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month that the renovations are expected to cost $257 million. He also said the proposed renovations would keep open the REACH, a new art space on the center’s campus, walking back previous proposals that included its full closure.

Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center earlier this year after a board vote in December 2025. His name was stripped from the building in June after a ruling said it violated federal law, and in August, the board voted on a resolution to re-add Trump’s name in the form of two inscriptions.

The board scrapped plans to take another vote Tuesday on a resolution that presented 10 different options for how the president’s name could be etched onto the facade, some of which included phrases like “restored and renovated” by Trump.