Trump admin threatens Kennedy Center demolition over renovation dispute

The Trump administration has warned that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could face demolition and replacement with an outdoor amphitheater if a federal court blocks its planned two-year renovation and closure. In a filing on August 24, Justice Department attorneys argued that without the proposed restoration, the historic venue will become an unsafe structure that must be taken down.

The legal threat emerged in response to a lawsuit from Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who is seeking to prevent the Kennedy Center's board from adding President Donald Trump's name to the building's facade. A hearing on her request is scheduled for August 28 in federal court in Washington. The filing defended the board's recent vote to close the center for renovations and to adopt new naming, asserting that President Trump's involvement is crucial for the project's success.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had previously ruled in May that the board acted unlawfully in closing the center and that only Congress has the authority to rename the institution. He found the initial closure plan "ill-informed and seemingly preordained." Despite this, the board voted...