{"id":43490,"date":"2026-08-14T03:57:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43490"},"modified":"2026-08-14T03:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:57:27","slug":"kennedy-center-board-votes-to-close-for-renovations-and-add-trumps-name-again-lawmaker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43490","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center board votes to close for renovations and add Trump&#8217;s name again, lawmaker says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">The Kennedy Center board, filled with President Donald Trump&#8217;s hand-picked appointees, voted on Thursday to close the famed cultural institution for two years for renovations and to again add Trump&#8217;s name to the facade, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">According to Beatty, the front of the Washington building would read: &#8220;The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In addition, Beatty said, an outdoor space would be named<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->&#8220;The President Donald J. Trump Plaza.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;This morning&#8217;s decision to close the Center and the surprise agenda item to put Donald Trump&#8217;s name back on the building was more of the same,&#8221; she said in the statement. &#8220;This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court&#8217;s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed. I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston, in a brief statement in response to the board\u2019s vote, said: &#8220;Under President Trump&#8217;s bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur \" style=\"padding-bottom:66.70524691358025%\" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, August 12, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Jim Lo Scalzo\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Congress created the center and designated it as a living memorial in 1964 shortly after President John F. Kennedy&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Beatty on Thursday pointed to a law prohibiting the adding of &#8220;memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials&#8221; to the Kennedy Center, a statute U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper cited when he ordered Trump&#8217;s name be removed from the building in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;A federal judge already rejected the board&#8217;s unlawful attempt to rename the Kennedy Center, and told Donald Trump&#8217;s handpicked board that its last closure vote was ill-informed and preordained,&#8221; Norm Eisen, a lawyer representing Beatty said in a statement. &#8220;Today&#8217;s vote is more of the same, and a show of blatant disrespect to the courts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The board is under an order by Judge Cooper to report to him on the outcome of Thursday&#8217;s meeting within five days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Cooper said the update should also indicate the board\u2019s plans for the tarp that now still covers the facade of the building.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Cooper&#8217;s May order invalidated the board\u2019s March vote to close and renovate the center start, finding the board essentially rubber stamped a hastily made plan without properly weighing the impacts on the center\u2019s programming and finances. Cooper suggested in his ruling that the trustees could fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities by moving ahead with a more fully developed plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kennedy Center board, filled with President Donald Trump&#8217;s hand-picked appointees, voted on Thursday to close the famed cultural institution for two years for renovations and to again add Trump&#8217;s name to the facade, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said in a statement. According to Beatty, the front of the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/96adab9a-b87e-481d-8b6e-171723459987\/kennedy-ctr-epa-gmh-260813_1786635247650_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}