The US Department of Justice has warned that the Kennedy Center could face demolition if US President Donald Trump’s name is not added to the building. In a court filing on Tuesday, the DOJ described the cultural landmark as “decrepit” and “dilapidated,” claiming donor funding for renovations would collapse with Trump’s name on the structure.
Brantley Mayers, a top official in the DOJ’s Civil Division, argued in a language reminiscent of Trump’s Truth Social posts that the Kennedy Center risks an imminent “death spiral” without Trump’s intervention. The filing stated that without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down. A determination will follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed by some for many years.
Such a replacement would fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain, the document noted. Mayers further warned that blocking renovations and Trump’s recognition at the Kennedy Center could affect its finances. “An order blocking the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee, financial contributions to dry up, and structural rehabilitation to stop,” the filing said. There will simply not be the expertise or funding necessary to rebuild and renovate this decimated structure.
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Mayers also used the filing to repeatedly attack Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center, who filed a lawsuit in December. Warning the judge overseeing the lawsuit, Mayers said that allowing the Democrat’s legal efforts to continue “almost guarantees the continued decline and eventual demise of the Kennedy Center, probably leading to the construction of a new, but very different kind, of venue.”
In a statement issued by Beatty’s lawyers in response to the DOJ’s filing, they called the legal arguments “legally baseless” and “unconscionable” for the Justice Department to threaten to demolish the Kennedy Center if the court were to block the planned renovations. The court filing comes weeks after the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, most of whom were appointed by the Republican president, voted once again to add his name to the institution.
According to reports, this isn’t the first time the Center’s board has argued that fundraising could be impeded without Trump’s name on the building. The board decided to rename the physical site, as proposed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In a 20-3 vote, it decided to rename the physical site, as proposed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Beatty told Reuters that in its meeting, the board voted to change the front of the building’s facade to read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump,” and renamed the physical site “the President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”
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Arguments on Beatty’s request to block those changes will be heard on Thursday. The latest dispute is part of a long-running saga over whether the US president’s name can be added to the Kennedy Center, an institution meant to honor John F. Kennedy following his assassination. Earlier this month, the board voted again to add Trump’s name. In May, the court halted the initial attempt to add “Donald J. Trump” to the building’s facade following Beatty’s lawsuit, in which she argued that the board’s decision to rename the cultural center was illegal because the name change requires an act of Congress.
It remains to be seen what the federal judge will decide on Thursday.
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