Kennedy Center board votes to close venue after judge blocks plan to honor Trump: report

WASHINGTON - The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees voted on Tuesday to close the iconic performing arts venue amid financial issues and an ongoing dispute over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building, according to Associated Press reporting citing sources familiar with the vote.

What we know:

The decision to close the venue comes the same day a federal judge barred the board from adding new inscriptions honoring Trump or renaming the center’s grounds.

Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Tuesday that returning or adding the president's name to recognize his renovation efforts would violate an earlier injunction and federal law, which limits memorials at the institution strictly to President John F. Kennedy.

"Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing," Cooper ruled, according to the AP.

Programming will continue at The Reach and other off-site venues, including performances by the National Symphony Orchestra. 

The backstory:

The board previously approved a resolution on August 13 to recognize Trump’s "current and future" contributions by inscribing "renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump" on the building and naming the campus "President Donald J. Trump Plaza." 

Judge Cooper found both actions would unlawfully create new memorials, expressly prohibited in the Kennedy Center’s governing statute.

The court also reviewed a proposed inscription tied to a $100 million endowment but ruled that the issue could not be settled yet because the fund has raised no money. The judge ordered the board to notify the court if fundraising reaches that threshold. 

Leaders of the center said conditions inside have become unsafe, pointing to years of water damage and corrosion. 

During a major storm in early September, a 4-by-5 foot section of the ceiling in the grand foyer broke loose and fell about 60 feet. No one was injured, but according to reports provided to the board, inspectors have since identified other areas of water damage along with corrosion, deteriorating steel and electrical safety concerns throughout the building. 

What they're saying:

President Trump weighed in on social media shortly after the vote, claiming the closure was necessary for public safety and strongly implying that the fate of the Kennedy Center depended largely on whether his name is attached.

"The Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name," he wrote. "If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be ... the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place."

Attorneys for Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who sued over the naming, are challenging the board's claims and questioning whether today's vote can take effect. 

"The court is clearly concerned with the continued health of the Kennedy Center under the shocking mismanagement of this administration," said attorney Norm Eisen. "The law is that the court has ordered that the Kennedy Center remain open pending further decision of the core so that vote today will not be able to close the Kennedy Center and now we’re gonna have discovery as we requested."

Big picture view:

Trump has spent much of his second term reshaping Washington, tearing down the East Wing to build a new White House ballroom and pursuing plans for a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and a renovated golf course along the Potomac River.

Donald J. TrumpWashington, D.C.News