Attorneys for the Trump administration have warned that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could be demolished and replaced with a new structure if planned renovations are blocked and President Trump's name is not added to the building's exterior. The warning was issued in a legal brief filed late Monday as part of the administration's response to a lawsuit.
Lawyers argued that without the president's support and the proposed renovations, the Kennedy Center faces a "financial and structural death spiral." They suggested that a potential replacement could be a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River, which they claimed would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain, though it would "fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy."
The administration's legal filing is a response to a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio). Beatty's suit aims to prevent the president's name from being added to the building's exterior and to halt a planned two-year closure for renovation work. Beatty's legal team has characterized the administration's filing as a "threat to demolish the Kennedy Center if President Trump doesn’t get his way."
According to the brief, Trump's support is crucial for the center's survival, citing his administration's backing for repairs and financial contributions, including $258 million from Congress and millions from new donors. "The crisis is so acute that, without the Trump Administration, its people, and President Trump, the Center cannot survive, either structurally or financially," the attorneys wrote.
The legal team also asserted that Representative Beatty, as a Kennedy Center board member, had previously supported renaming the land around the center after President Trump. While Beatty did vote against a proposal to add Trump's name to the building's entrance alongside Kennedy's, the board approved the proposal. However, an attorney for Beatty stated that she opposed the naming of the plaza and will contest the administration's characterization of her comments in court.
A federal judge had previously ordered the removal of Trump's name from the building and blocked the renovation closure. The Trump administration is appealing this ruling, with a hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964. The original legislation prohibits the board from turning the center into a memorial for anyone else or from placing another person's name on the building's exterior. Beatty's lawsuit relies on this prohibition to argue that the board's actions are illegal. The Trump attorneys, however, contend that the resolution to add Trump's name is lawful because it does not constitute a "memorial" under any plausible interpretation of the statute.