President Donald Trump has been ordered to remove his name from the Kennedy Center and abandon plans to close it for two years, but critics are concerned he may try to sabotage the iconic arts institution in retaliation.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member who has led the charge against Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, submitted a court filing calling on the Trump administration to show it has plans to keep the center open past July 5.
A federal judge last week ruled the president must remove his name from the center and temporarily blocked the administration from closing it for a two-year renovation.
But the filing warned the president could still shutter the Kennedy Center for two years simply through inaction after his plans to close its doors were halted.
Beatty argued that for the center to remain open, “steps must be taken now to book acts for the period following July 5, 2026, when Defendants had previously unlawfully intended the Center to go dark.”
“It appears, unfortunately, that Defendants may intend to proceed—full steam ahead—with the shutdown, or simply to effectuate a shutdown by inertia,” the filing stated. “There is serious reason for concern, therefore, that Defendants are not undertaking a good faith effort to comply with the Court’s order and maintain operations after July 5, 2026.”
It pointed out that Trump’s lawyers stated they were not in a position to represent whether the team was taking steps or planning to “ensure that meaningful operations—including, most notably, any performances—continue after July 5, 2026.”
In an email on Thursday evening, Trump’s lawyers indicated that the board, which the president has stacked with his allies, is expected to meet in the coming weeks to develop a construction plan.
“The unwillingness to confirm that Defendants will do anything to keep the Center open after July 5, 2026—which is just a few weeks away—unfortunately heightens Plaintiff’s concerns,” the filing read.
It said that Beatty was “not asking the Court to superintend or micro-manage the Kennedy Center” but warned his counsel “has told all staff that Defendants need not do anything to ensure the Center remains meaningfully operational after July 5, 2026, and can instead implement a total closure via inertia.”
She called for the court to order the president’s team to “file a sworn declaration from a responsible official of the Kennedy Center outlining any concrete plans they have taken or intend to take to continue operations after July 5, 2026, including the booking of performances.”
On Thursday, a memo from the Kennedy Center’s General Counsel indicated to staff that the court did not rule the center needed to stay open during renovations or require any on-site programming during that time. It said the center was reviewing its options and would provide additional guidance shortly.
That same memo directed staff to scrub Trump’s name from the building, website, brochures, email signatures, letterhead and other Kennedy Center documentation by June 12, after the judge ruled the president had illegally added his name.
The signage must reflect the official name of the center as designated by Congress, which is “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” or “Kennedy Center.” It serves as a living memorial to the late president, who was assassinated in 1963.
After the judge ordered Trump’s name be removed and temporarily blocked the center from being closed for two years, the president lashed out and suggested he no longer wanted anything to do with the institution, more than a year after he named himself chairman of the board.
“Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ‘NEVER NEVER LAND,’” Trump wrote in a rambling post.
He suggested he wanted the responsibility of the Kennedy Center transferred completely to Congress, but on Friday, Trump told reporters a “lot of people” have asked him to “stay involved with the Kennedy Center” while blasting the judge. He said he was considering it.
