Overview
- U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled in late May that the board illegally added President Trump’s name and blocked its planned two‑year closure, ordering the name removed and requiring the center to report plans to keep public access and programming.
- Workers removed the letters in mid‑June but scaffolding and a large tarp still cover the facade, and the center has filed an appeal that keeps the legal outcome unresolved.
- Kennedy Center executive director Matt Floca told the court that the board will meet in mid‑July to vote on three options: a full closure with no programming, a partial closure with limited shows, or phased closures that preserve more performances.
- Rep. Joyce Beatty’s lawyers say the center is not complying in good faith and accuse management of leaving the building effectively inactive by keeping the tarp up and not resuming programming, and they have asked the court for closer oversight and regular updates.
- The dispute follows a Trump‑aligned board overhaul that coincided with mass staff cuts, artist withdrawals and steep subscription declines, and it raises questions about fundraising tied to naming and the statute that Congress alone may change the memorial’s formal name.