The Trump administration said in a court filing late Friday that it is still considering a \u201cpartial closure\u201d at the Kennedy Center, despite a previous ruling requiring that the iconic performing arts center remains open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the institution\u2019s board improperly voted to shut down the center starting on July 5 for renovations. Cooper also reversed the board\u2019s decision to add President Trump\u2019s name to the center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judge had asked the administration to share more details by a Friday deadline about these planned renovations and scheduled programming at the center for after the previously planned closure date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt Floca, the center\u2019s executive director, said in the Friday filing that management plans to present the board with three options: \u201ccomplete closure\u201d with \u201cno ongoing programming,\u201d \u201cpartial closure\u201d with \u201climited programming\u201d or \u201cphased closures\u201d and a \u201cfull slate of programming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Center continues to prepare for additional capital repair and construction activities,\u201d government attorneys wrote in the filing, noting that Cooper\u2019s order did not block the center from closing for renovations altogether nor did it require them to reschedule cancelled programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration said it expects these renovations to occur between July and December, pending approval from the performing arts center\u2019s board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the government lawyers noted the administration\u2019s compliance with Cooper\u2019s order to remove the president\u2019s name from the center\u2019s digital and physical signage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDefendants will expeditiously address any remaining uses of the President\u2019s name if and when they become aware of their existence,\u201d the administration wrote in the filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attorneys for Kennedy Center ex officio board member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who brought the original lawsuit against the administration, responded on Friday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her lawyers said the administration\u2019s filing \u201cconfirms that they plan to turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs things stand now, absent action on Defendants\u2019 part, the Kennedy Center will have no meaningful operations after July 5, 2026,\u201d her attorneys wrote. \u201cDefendants are thus following through with, and continuing to implement, their existing plans to close the Center, contrary to the Court\u2019s preliminary injunction order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beatty\u2019s lawyers also requested that the administration explain why scaffolding was constructed around the Kennedy Center\u2019s facade, obstructing a view of the letter-removal process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDefendants appear to be actively undermining the restoration of the Kennedy Center\u2019s name, in a petty act of defiance,\u201d Beatty wrote in the filing. \u201cIn addition to raising concerns about compliance, willfully sabotaging Kennedy Center\u2019s iconic facade to assuage Defendants\u2019 vanity or massage broken egos is a clear breach of fiduciary duty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n