Trump links Kennedy Center repairs to blocked renaming bid
The centre’s board voted to close most of the Washington complex for safety repairs after a federal judge ruled that adding Trump’s name requires congressional approval.
The Kennedy Center board has voted to close most of the Washington performing arts complex for safety repairs, hours after a federal judge again blocked efforts to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building.
Trump said the $257 million renovation, funded by Congress, would proceed only if the board was allowed to recognise his role in the project. He also stated that he had given $17 million to an endowment supporting the institution, a claim not independently verified in the report.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that memorials for Trump or anyone else could not be installed at the Kennedy Center without congressional approval. The Justice Department has appealed the decision.
The repairs have gained urgency after a partial ceiling collapse in the building’s main hallway earlier this month. The exact extent and timing of the closure have not been specified.
The dispute follows Cooper’s May ruling that Trump’s name had been added unlawfully. It was removed in June, but the board voted in August for an inscription naming Trump and potentially renaming the plaza in his honour.
Administration lawyers have raised demolition as a possibility if renovation funding cannot be secured, though no demolition has been confirmed. Trump became the centre’s chairman last year after board changes by his supporters.
