Cooper orders administration to answer on building status by Thursday
The Wednesday emergency filing is the latest move in a saga that started when Trump dismissed the Kennedy Center’s prior board last year and replaced it with members who then elected him chairman. In December, the new board voted to add Trump’s name to the center; Cooper ruled in May that the name had to be removed because only Congress has the authority to change it.
After that May ruling, the board explored alternative methods of returning Trump’s name to the building. Cooper ruled Tuesday that the latest workaround also violated the law. Hours later, the same board voted to close the center for renovations.
In a social media post, Trump said the closure is for “safety reasons” but also said renovations would not begin, and the building would not reopen, until his name was restored. The Justice Department has said it will appeal Cooper’s earlier order requiring the center remain open by Friday.
Beatty, an ex officio member of the board, said in Wednesday’s filing that a member of her legal team requested access to the center on Wednesday and was denied. CNN reported that fences and barricades covered the building’s doors but that no signage indicated the closure. Her filing said personnel at the center told Beatty’s staff that construction was starting inside the building.
Eisen and Zelinsky said in a statement that closing the center without Cooper’s approval is “an assault on the rule of law.”
“The board cannot simply ignore Judge Cooper’s rulings whenever it suits them,” they said. “In this country, no one — including the president — is above the law.”