Lutnick argued $257 million renovation with Trump as construction manager
On Monday, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, filed two board resolutions with the federal court handling her lawsuit against the center’s renaming. One resolution states that the Kennedy Center administration is planning to shut down the center immediately, calling the building unsafe for continued occupancy. In a document accompanying the board resolutions, however, Beatty claims that the construction consultants the board brought in have never said any such thing. The board also states the Kennedy Center is in such a “precarious fiscal position that it will not be able to support its payroll obligations, nor routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks.”
The Monday filing came a day after the Washington Post reported Sunday evening that the Kennedy Center administration told its board the arts institution is on the brink of bankruptcy and might be forced to close as soon as Tuesday. The document detailing that warning, whose existence NPR has confirmed, was issued ahead of a board meeting slated for Tuesday. Tuesday is also the day U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper is set to hold a status hearing in the federal lawsuit Beatty brought to stop the renaming of the center to honor President Trump last December. NPR reported the status meeting is essentially to set more deadlines and court dates.
Both the majority of the center’s administration and board were selected by Trump, who now serves as its chairman. Most of the center’s staff have either been fired or departed, but those who remain are largely loyal to Trump.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — whose wife, Allison Lutnick, was named to the Kennedy Center board in Feb. 2025 — made the argument that only Trump can oversee the renovation outside a court hearing last month in the Beatty suit. “Basically, it would cost four or $500 million if you do it over time or it’ll cost $257 million if President Trump is the construction manager,” Lutnick said. “He has the power and he has the expertise to get this done. He is the greatest builder in the world. And he will get it done on time and on budget.”
The Kennedy Center’s argument is that the institution is in dire shape and that Trump is the only person who can fundraise at such a massive scale or successfully oversee such an extensive renovation project — and as such, he deserves his name to be on the building, just like how big donors at hospitals and universities see their names on prominent display.
Nevertheless, the institution faces real challenges. Large, legacy, not-for-profit institutions like the Kennedy Center generally depend on a balance of earned revenue, philanthropic giving and some amount of government grants. The last president of the Kennedy Center, former Ambassador Richard Grenell, tried to insist that every performance be revenue-generating or at least revenue-neutral. Its current president and CEO, Matt Floca, was elevated from his position as head of facilities for the Kennedy Center. He has no experience in artistic direction, fundraising or arts administration, unlike his peers at similar centers across the country. No one else on the board has any known experience with similar performing arts institutions, either.
On Sept. 5, the center’s administration said that a portion of the ceiling in the main building’s grand foyer collapsed due to rain damage. Both artists and audiences have fled the Kennedy Center over the past year plus, saying that it has become politicized under Trump. Its live event calendar is a small fraction of what it used to be. Donations have also dried up. NPR reported it is unclear whether or not Trump’s further imprimatur would change the situation.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment on Monday. Critics of the Kennedy Center’s administration said the timing of the bankruptcy report may not be a coincidence.