{"id":9531,"date":"2026-08-13T22:28:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9531"},"modified":"2026-08-13T22:28:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:28:56","slug":"kennedy-center-votes-to-put-trumps-name-back-on-building-and-close-for-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9531","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center votes to put Trump\u2019s name back on building and close for renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n President Donald Trump\u2019s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center has voted a second time to close the performing arts institution for a two-year renovation, according to two people who were briefed on the decision.\n <\/p>

Read more It\u2019s not just a gut feeling: Foodborne illness outbreaks are especially bad this summer<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The board on Thursday also voted to add an inscription below the Kennedy Center\u2019s sign, saying the arts complex was \u201cRestored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,\u201d the sources said.\n <\/p>\n

\n As part of the renovation plan, the board voted to keep open part of the complex separate from the main building, called the REACH, which will host smaller scale shows, they added.\n <\/p>\n

\n The center will need to turn over information on the renovations and closure to a federal judge by August 18.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Kennedy Center has been embroiled in legal disputes since Trump launched his effort to control the historic arts venue and put his stamp on the nation\u2019s capital in his second term.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump had announced plans in February to close the center, which he said was \u201cin bad condition.\u201d In December, the board of trustees voted to rename it the \u201cTrump Kennedy Center.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In May, however, a federal judge in Washington, DC, blocked the center\u2019s planned closure, demanding the board consider maintaining some programming during renovations to carry out its congressionally mandated activities.\n <\/p>\n

\n US District Judge Casey Cooper also said the center\u2019s board violated the law when it added Trump\u2019s name to the performing arts venue.\n <\/p>\n

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\nThe Kennedy Center in the evening of June 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Emily Alff\/Sipa USA\/AP<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nKennedy Center facing financial straits, difficult choices \u2013 and a judge who wants it to stay open<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

5 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n The law establishing the center \u201cmakes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board\u2019s unilateral say-so,\u201d wrote Cooper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump\u2019s name was removed from the facade of the Kennedy Center in June after the court order. Crowds gathered to watch workers take the letters down, but the removal was hidden by a tarp and scaffolding. Large, striped tarps have remained on the center\u2019s exterior for months, preventing the public from viewing what remains.\n <\/p>

Read more Trump admin investigating graffiti and soap bubbles at World War II Memorial<\/a><\/p>\n

\n One of the sources briefed on the Thursday vote said that the idea is that Trump\u2019s name now being included below the sign is not a move to \u201crename\u201d the center. Another source said it would serve as a \u201cpermanent reminder\u201d of his undermining of the institution.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nathaniel Zelinsky, a lawyer representing Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio trustee of the board who sued last year to challenge the name change, told CNN on Thursday the center\u2019s latest move is \u201can effort to evade the court\u2019s justice.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Federal law governing the Kennedy Center prohibits \u201cadditional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials\u201d from being \u201cdesignated or installed\u201d in public areas of the building.\n <\/p>\n

\n The only exceptions are plaques acknowledging countries who gave gifts to the center, donor plaques on a theater chair or a theater box, or \u201cany inscription on the marble walls in the north or south galleries, the Hall of States, or the Hall of Nations acknowledging a major contribution,\u201d according to the legislation.\n <\/p>\n

\n In Trump\u2019s second term, the venue has served as a vehicle for the president to elevate work that plays to his cultural tastes. He hosted the Kennedy Center Honors in December, and the center held the premiere of first lady Melania Trump\u2019s documentary in January. And earlier this summer, the center hosted the final round of Trump\u2019s national civics contest for high school students.\n <\/p>\n

\n The institution has faced slumping ticket sales, artist withdrawals, political controversies and a diminished staff, which have made it challenging to restart a full-scale programming schedule, multiple sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n The fallout continued earlier this week when a local judge ordered the center to pay jazz artist Chuck Redd\u2019s legal fees after the institution sued him for canceling his Christmas Eve show over the addition of Trump\u2019s name to the venue. The Kennedy Center has 45 days to make the payment.\n <\/p>\n

\n The center is just one of the landmarks that has caught the president\u2019s interest as he seeks to reshape Washington, DC. He has paved over the White House Rose Garden to create a Mar-a-Lago-esque patio, demolished the East Wing to make room for a massive ballroom and changed the color of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s also launched efforts to expand a local golf course, construct the tallest arch in the world on a traffic circle across from Arlington National Cemetery and put a sculpture garden along the Potomac River.\n <\/p>

Read more Inside the drama at ActBlue \u2013 and why some Democrats are quietly afraid it could cost them in the midterms<\/a><\/p>\n

\nThis story has been updated with additional information.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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CNN\u2019s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Devan Cole contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center has voted a second time to close the performing arts institution for a two-year renovation, according to two people who were briefed on the decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nKennedy Center votes to put Trump\u2019s name back on building and close for renovations - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9531\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kennedy Center votes to put Trump\u2019s name back on building and close for renovations - 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