Kennedy Center Board to Vote Tuesday on Immediate Closure
The Kennedy Center board will vote Tuesday, Sept. 15, on whether to close its main building immediately for renovations. The Hill
A federal status hearing is also scheduled for Tuesday. Both address the future of the arts center, which was created by federal law and is led by a board chaired by President Trump.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed two board resolutions with the court on Monday, Sept. 14, as an ex-officio board member, a person who serves on a board because of another office she holds. The filing put internal board papers into the public court record. NPR
Judge Christopher Cooper set the Tuesday status hearing, a short court meeting to check on a case, in the lawsuit Beatty brought to stop the renaming of the center to honor Trump last December. Her Monday filing placed the closure and finance resolutions before Cooper one day before that hearing.
NPR confirmed a document describing a closure and bankruptcy plan ahead of Tuesday's board meeting. The Washington Post reported Sunday evening that Kennedy Center managers told the board the center is near bankruptcy and could have to close as soon as Tuesday. The New York Times reported Sept. 13 that papers shared with the board included a draft resolution to close the main building immediately.
What the resolutions say
One resolution said the center plans to shut down immediately because the building is "unsafe for continued occupancy." It tied the closure to the building's physical condition.
On Sept. 5, the Kennedy Center administration said part of the ceiling in the main building's grand foyer fell because of rain damage.
In a paper filed with the resolutions, Beatty said the outside construction consultants brought in by the board "never said the center was unsafe for continued occupancy." That disagreement over what the consultants said is now in the court record.
The second resolution said the center is in a "precarious fiscal position" and "will not be able to support payroll obligations nor routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks." It named paychecks and routine upkeep bills, not long-term debt or building pledges.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to NPR's requests for comment on Monday.
Renaming fight and board control
President Trump serves as chairman of the board, and most members were chosen by him.
The board voted to add Trump's name to the building and rename the site for Trump, according to an Aug. 13 vote reported by Reuters. Beatty's lawsuit seeks to stop the renaming that happened last December.
The Kennedy Center said it is in dire shape and that Trump is the only person who can raise money on a large scale or lead a major renovation, and so his name should be on the building. The filings give that large fundraising and renovation work as the reason for the name change.
An earlier plan also called for a closure. Under a plan described by Trump, the center would close July 4, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, according to February reporting from Reuters. That plan was described as a temporary halt to shows, not the immediate closure now before the board.
The broader context here is timing and process. The board vote and the court hearing fall on the same day, Sept. 15, and the internal resolutions are now court exhibits. That gives Cooper a written record of what the board was told about safety and cash flow as he handles the naming case.
In practical terms for Tuesday, two questions stand out. First, whether a majority of the board accepts the administration's view that the building cannot stay open and that pay and upkeep bills cannot be met within weeks. Second, whether Cooper treats the safety and money reasons as separate from the renaming dispute or as connected to it. Like a household low on cash for next month's bills, the finance resolution points to a short-term cash problem.
For readers watching the procedure, Beatty's filing moved board papers from closed discussion into the public docket because she filed as an ex-officio member. That creates a public record of the consultants' advice and the money projections that lawyers and congressional staff can cite, no matter how the board votes. The Tuesday result will not end the fight over control. It will decide whether the main building stays open while the naming lawsuit continues, and what reason the board gives.
