Kennedy Center board votes to close for renovations after chaotic call with Trump
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington
(CNN) — The Kennedy Center board voted to close the center Tuesday after a tense meeting in which President Donald Trump called in to berate a Democratic congresswoman who serves on the panel, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
“It was f**king crazy,” said one source familiar with the exchange between Trump and Rep. Joyce Beatty, whose lawsuit has prevented Trump’s name from being added to the building.
Another source said Trump screamed, and Beatty told him he had put the Kennedy Center into deep debt.
The board’s vote and Trump’s call came moments after a federal judge stopped the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees’ latest plan to add Trump’s name to the memorial for President John F. Kennedy.
US District Judge Casey Cooper said a proposal to add an inscription thanking the president for renovating and restoring the institution’s edifice, along with a move to rename the center’s campus after him – “bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”
“Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper wrote.
Before fully shutting down the Center, however, the board will need to secure a ruling reversing Cooper’s previous court order requiring the that institution stay open while Beatty’s lawsuit proceeds. The Justice Department is expected to file that request by Friday.
Trump says center won’t reopen without his name attached
After the board voted, Trump maintained that if his name isn’t eventually on the building, the renovations won’t happen.
“The closing will take place immediately, however, 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,” the president said on Truth Social.
Trump added that if the court ruling on the name “is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.” Trump said Justice Department attorneys will request an expedited appeal.
Trump also said $17 million he raised has been deposited into the Kennedy Center’s account “to keep it afloat” in the meantime.
Trump ire directed at judge as well
An August 13 proposal adopted by the board would have affixed the text “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” to the center’s facade. After initially planning to add the inscription this month, the board’s lawyers told Cooper it would wait until October 8 so he could rule on the legality of such a move.
The legal wrangling is the latest development in a lawsuit brought by Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board. In remarks outside of court before Cooper’s ruling, Beatty said she would oppose any new attempts by the board to put his name on the building.
Trump also blasted the judge on social media in anticipation that Cooper would rule against the name-change and would prevent the Kennedy Center from being closed to address, in Trump’s words, “Building Safety.”
“A very hostile and conflicted Judge (What else is new?) seems like he won’t let that happen, in which case, unfortunately, the Building is destined to doom,” Trump said on Truth Social.
During the phone call with the Kennedy Center board, the president also took aim at Cooper, an appointee of Barack Obama, sources said.
Cooper held off on ruling on one part of the August 13 resolution – a proposal adding an additional inscription honoring “The Trump Kennedy Center Fund” once $100 million was raised by the endowment.
Since the fund has not raised any money yet, ruling on that proposal was “premature,” Cooper said. Instead, he is ordering notification if that fundraising threshold is met, with at least 60 days notice before the text can be added.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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