Kennedy Center Board Votes to Add Trump’s Name to Building Facade
The Kennedy Center’s board of trustees voted Thursday to close the performing-arts venue for two years and add President Trump’s name to its facade, according to U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty and her attorneys.
The facade will read, “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump,” while the physical site will be renamed “the President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” Beatty, an ex officio board member, and her attorneys said.
The move follows months of litigation over Trump’s efforts to reshape the cultural institution and is likely to trigger further legal challenges. A federal judge in Washington previously blocked the administration’s attempt to add Trump’s name and paused the two-year renovation plan.
Beatty said the latest move is an attempt to circumvent the court’s ruling and congressional statutes. She has vowed to continue fighting.
Trump has taken a special interest in the venue during his second term, firing board members and installing himself as chair. The Trump-influenced board voted late last year to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center. Trump announced in February that it would close for two years for renovations.
Beatty sued to block the changes. In May, a judge ruled only Congress could rename the building, and Trump’s name was removed. The judge also temporarily blocked the closure plan, saying the board relied on an “insufficient, one-sided presentation of information” and failed to fully consider its obligations and the consequences. The administration appealed.
The center has several main stages and hosts more than 2,000 events annually. Its 2024 operating budget was $269 million.
