Kennedy Center eyes ‘partial closure’ after judge blocks full shutdown for renovation

The Trump administration told a federal judge Friday that the Kennedy Center may be looking at a “partial closure,” even as a previous ruling required the performing arts center to stay open, effectively blocking it from shutting its doors for a two-year renovation.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper — who also reversed a decision to add President Trump’s name to the center — ruled that the institution’s board improperly voted to close the center last month following a lawsuit from Rep. Joyce Beatty, Ohio Democrat and ex officio board member.

Judge Cooper requested details of planned construction, board actions related to the renovations and scheduled programming at the center by this past Friday.

The Kennedy Center is now weighing whether to offer a complete schedule of performances or limited programming.

Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca said in a that the board will have three options: “complete closure” with “no ongoing programming,” “partial closure” with “limited programming,” or “phased closures” and a “full slate of programming.”

Center management expects to present the options to the board for a vote in mid-July.

Because Judge Cooper’s order “did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been canceled or to seek new programming,” the center “continues to prepare for additional capital repair and construction activities,” the filing reads.

Renovations are anticipated to take place between July and December, although the exact timeline is subject to change “following the Board’s continued consideration of the most responsible path forward for the Center to conduct capital repair and construction,” according to the filing.

Also in a Friday night filing, Ms. Beatty’s lawyers accused the Trump administration of trying to “turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk.”

Her lawyers want Judge Cooper to order weekly updates about “the concrete steps taken to resume programming.”

“To be clear, again, Plaintiff is not asking the Court to pick and choose what programming Defendants present, or to micromanage operations,” they wrote. “Defendants must do something, however, to ensure there are meaningful operations come July 5, 2026, in order to comply with the plain terms of the preliminary injunction, and they must do so in good faith.”

As Judge Cooper’s previous order mandated the removal of Mr. Trump’s name from the center’s facade and website, Ms. Beatty’s lawyers questioned why scaffolding and tarp around the center’s exterior hide where his name was.

“Defendants appear to be actively undermining the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s name, in a petty act of defiance,” the filing reads. “In addition to raising concerns about compliance, willfully sabotaging Kennedy Center’s iconic facade to assuage Defendants’ vanity or massage broken egos is a clear breach of fiduciary duty.”

This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at [email protected]

The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at [email protected].