A legal battle is unfolding in Washington after a House Democrat moved to stop President Donald Trump from shutting down the nation’s premier performing arts venue for a major renovation project.
Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio filed a lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking an emergency court order to prevent the closure of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump recently renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Beatty argues that the administration’s plan to close the complex could put the landmark cultural institution at risk of being permanently altered—or even torn down—without authorization from Congress.
In the filing, Beatty urged the court to intervene before construction begins, warning that the building could be irreversibly changed if the closure proceeds.
“The Court should not wait until the bulldozers are at the door,” she wrote in the legal complaint. “It should issue an order that preserves the status quo until the rule of law––not unilateral executive action–– determines the Kennedy Center’s ultimate fate.”
The dispute follows Trump’s announcement last month that the performing arts center would shut its doors beginning July 4 so work could start on what he described as a “new and spectacular Entertainment Complex.” Trump also said funding for the project had already been secured.
“Financing is completed, and fully in place!” Trump wrote on his social platform, Truth Social.
Beatty’s lawsuit does not claim that Trump has directly proposed demolishing the building, but she argues the closure itself creates the risk. She said the move could “demolish” the building while it is closed and warned the center might otherwise sit idle for years.
According to the filing, even if the center’s governing board approved the shutdown, the venue could become “a lifeless husk for two years” if it remains closed for extended construction.
The Ohio Democrat further argued that closing the venue without congressional approval would “violate the statutory mandate to ‘maintain and administer’ the Kennedy Center as a ‘living memorial’ to” former President John F. Kennedy.
Her request asks the court to block several actions tied to the proposed closure, including canceling scheduled performances or laying off staff. However, the lawsuit says routine operations and maintenance should be allowed to continue while the legal challenge proceeds.
The White House quickly pushed back against the claims. Spokesperson Liz Huston said Democrats had allowed the facility to deteriorate and that the president’s plan would revitalize the institution.
“Democrats neglected the Trump-Kennedy Center for years,” Huston said. She added that the president “stepped up to rescue and revitalize the institution.”
“The newly named Trump-Kennedy Center proudly recognizes President Trump’s incredible contributions including strengthening its finances, leading major building upgrades, removing divisive woke programming, and transforming it into a welcoming destination that everyone can enjoy under his leadership,” Huston said. “Only deranged Democrats could oppose these efforts.”
The lawsuit marks the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between Beatty and the administration over the cultural landmark. In December, the lawmaker filed a separate case challenging Trump’s decision to rename the venue the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, calling the change a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution.
Beatty has also disputed claims from the administration that the board’s vote to approve the name change was unanimous. She said she was present on the call but was muted, preventing her from speaking or voting.
“I was on the call,” she said previously, arguing she was unable “to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this.” Beatty described the situation as “censorship.”
For now, the fate of the Kennedy Center—and whether the planned closure can proceed—will depend on how the federal court responds to Beatty’s request for a preliminary injunction.
Trump has defended the shutdown plan as necessary to modernize the facility, describing the project as the “fastest way” for the center to reach “the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur.”
