The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced that its upcoming Tuesday meeting will concentrate entirely on the “necessary closure” of the facility, according to a federal court filing made overnight by the Trump administration.
Justice Department attorneys revealed that an email sent by Kennedy Center official Joe LaFauci at 7 p.m. on Monday clarified that a separate draft resolution outlining ten new tributes to President Donald Trump would not be considered. The email instructed the board to stand by its previous vote recognizing the president.
LaFauci attributed the change in agenda to “recently exacerbated structural emergencies” at the venue. Late Monday evening, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shared security footage on social media showing a portion of the ceiling collapse during a rainstorm earlier in the month. The video captured debris falling onto an empty red carpet.
“If a performance had been underway, patrons could have been killed,” Lutnick stated. “People cannot be allowed to go into this building any longer.”
The center previously voted in December to display Trump’s name on the exterior of the building. However, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the removal in May. Last month, the board voted 23-3 to close the facility for two years as part of a $285 million renovation plan. The board, which is composed largely of Trump appointees, also sought to re-add Trump’s name to the building up to two additional times.
Although Congress has already appropriated $257 million for the project, board members have argued that Trump would contribute an additional $100 million. Trusteese are expected to vote Tuesday afternoon on a measure declaring the main building unsafe for occupancy and ordering its immediate closure to the public.
Cooper is currently considering whether re-adding the name would violate a statute prohibiting additional memorials at Washington, D.C.’s sole memorial to John F. Kennedy. A scheduling conference regarding the center’s future is set for 10 a.m. ET.
Norm Eisen, an attorney for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who filed a lawsuit challenging the closure and renaming, commented on the development. He praised the decision to drop the honorary resolution but criticized the closure plan as “foolishness” that Beatty’s legal team intends to contest.
Programming at the Kennedy Center effectively ceased in early July following Cooper’s ruling that the renaming was unlawful. Ticket sales had declined significantly for months prior. Despite existing congressional funding, center officials emphasized over the weekend that honoring Trump was necessary to secure his leadership in fundraising and renovation oversight. A draft resolution stated that without such recognition, it was unlikely Trump would provide the “fundamental oversight” needed for the project.
It’s bizarre how much the renaming debate overshadowed the actual ceiling falling in. Safety should have been the only headline.
Structural collapse is no joke, but shutting down the center entirely feels extreme when $257 million already sits in funding.