The Kennedy Center is to close for up to two years for a 257 million US dollar renovation after its board approved the repairs, but Donald Trump has threatened to block the work unless he is allowed to add his name to the Washington arts venue.
The decision by the board, chaired by the US president and dominated by his allies, came less than two hours after a federal judge again barred the centre from placing Mr Trump’s name on its facade.
Mr Trump said the renovation would not begin until an appeals court had considered the ruling. “If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the US Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place,” he wrote on Truth Social.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper temporarily halted the centre’s latest proposal to add the president’s name. He also said the board could not rename the surrounding campus “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” without approval from Congress.
“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’ blessing,” Judge Cooper wrote.
The Kennedy Center board has argued that honouring Mr Trump in this way is necessary to secure his continued commitment to the institution’s survival. Mr Trump said the Justice Department, which represents the centre, would appeal the order.
The Kennedy Center’s financial crisis
The board has said the performing arts venue urgently needs repairs and warned that its finances have deteriorated to the point where it may soon be unable to meet payroll obligations or maintenance contracts.
Since Mr Trump returned to the White House, artists have cancelled performances in protest at his takeover of the centre and his plans to reshape its programming. The Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra have been forced to find alternative venues, while revenue has fallen sharply.
The centre opened in 1971 as a memorial to assassinated president John F. Kennedy, with the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s requiem mass for Kennedy. It has since hosted the Washington National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra and performers including Mikhail Baryshnikov and Wynton Marsalis.
It is also the home of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, which recognise the lifetime achievements of leading artists.
The dispute forms part of Mr Trump’s wider attempt to impose his cultural and aesthetic mark on the US capital. His plans include a large ballroom replacing the White House East Wing, a renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and a proposed “triumphal arch” near the country’s main cemetery honouring its war dead.
