A federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center on Thursday to provide a detailed update on its “temporary closure” and emergency repairs by Wednesday, but denied a request for an emergency hearing.
The order from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper comes less than a day after new photos of President Donald Trump on Wednesday renewed fears that he plans to demolish the Kennedy Center as part of his bid to attach his name to the institution.
The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday to temporarily shutter the venue to allow for extensive renovations that are expected to cost $250 million. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is fighting the closure in her role as an ex-officio board member, arguing that the temporary closure could be a pretext for something permanent.
She asked for an emergency hearing, which Cooper denied. But he ordered the Kennedy Center to give plaintiffs in two related cases written notice at least 30 days before making any changes to the project plans previously presented to the court — including any “demolition” of the center’s main building.
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Trump, who filled the board with allies who replaced previous members he dismissed last year, has stated that the construction would not begin unless his name is affixed to the building. The board has argued that the Kennedy Center is on the precipice of “financial collapse” and that recognizing Trump is vital to secure his fundraising prowess.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his administration should be recognized on the building.
“Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close,” Trump said. “It will end up being ripped down.”
Hours later, Brendan Smialowski of AFP shot photos outside Trump’s aircraft of the president looking at a poster board that is partly obscured by the plane’s window. The photos show an aerial view of the building with a title above that reads “Kennedy Center” next to a partially covered word that appears to be “Demolish.”
Beatty submitted Trump’s Wednesday comments and one of the images to the court on Thursday as part of her emergency plea to stop the venue from shutting down.
When asked about the poster in the photos and what it meant for the Kennedy Center’s future, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said, “For years, Democrats let the Kennedy Center rot, allowing water damage and crumbling infrastructure to turn a national treasure into a building in decay.”
“As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, The Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline,” Huston said in a statement
The Justice Department argued in a court filing on Thursday that Beatty’s request for an emergency hearing should be denied, saying the Kennedy Center must be temporarily closed to “address significant safety hazards,” according to court records.
The rebuttal referenced an incident earlier this month when a chunk of ceiling collapsed inside a main hallway following water damage from severe lightning storms that hit Washington.
In a declaration attached to the filing, the Kennedy Center’s executive director, Matt Floca, said the current closure will “last for seven days, unless extended.” The filing also includes an email from Floca to staff on Wednesday saying the building would be closed for seven days starting that day.
“To be clear, this is not a decision to effectuate the Board’s separate vote to close the building for renovation,” he said in the email.
Beatty’s attorneys quickly responded to the administration’s court filing and repeated their request for an emergency hearing.
“This latest explanation cannot be squared with the record. Defendants’ rationale that they are only temporarily closing the Kennedy Center is a plain pretext to justify shutting down the Center permanently,” Beatty’s attorneys wrote. “The facts before the Court are deeply concerning.”
Black fencing has been installed surrounding the Kennedy Center, and the building was closed to the public on Thursday.
The Reach expansion campus next door continues to be open for programming, according to a Kennedy Center volunteer who spoke to The Washington Sun. But the volunteer said the center’s staff have received little information about what is happening.
“Nobody knows anything,” the volunteer said Thursday. “Staff is not being told anything.”
Security guards stationed outside the Kennedy Center said they were similarly in the dark. Asked about the board-approved renovations, one guard told The Sun he had “no idea” why the campus was closed.
This story has been updated with the judge’s ruling and additional filings.
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