Order follows Tuesday shutdown and Trump’s demolition threat
Judge Christopher Cooper on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center board to give written notice at least 30 days before implementing any changes to the building — including any demolition of the main structure. The order came after Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member, requested an emergency hearing over the board’s Tuesday shutdown of the performing arts center; Cooper denied the hearing but added the separate advance-notice provision as part of the lawsuit Beatty filed to keep Trump’s name off the building.
The order requires the board to provide written notice to plaintiffs in both pending cases more than 30 days before any change to the scope of project plans previously presented to the court in the D.C. Preservation League case, “including but not limited to any ‘demolition’ of the Center’s main building,” Cooper wrote. Cooper cited “more recent events” — the Tuesday shutdown — as creating uncertainty about the scope of permissible board action.
The underlying lawsuit stems from Beatty’s effort to keep Trump’s name off the building. Trump took over the Kennedy Center shortly after taking office in 2025 and filled the board with loyalists. The board announced the closure Tuesday after Cooper ruled for a second time that Trump could not add his name to the facade. Cooper had also previously blocked a plan to add an inscription reading “renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump.”
Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca told the court the closure was limited to seven days “unless extended” to address “acute risks to public safety” and was “separate from any Board decision related to closure for ongoing renovations.”
Trump has threatened to demolish the building if courts block adding his name, saying the structure is in poor condition. In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name. If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of the Kennedy Center will not take place.”
On Wednesday night, a photo taken through the window of Air Force One circulated on social media, appearing to show Trump holding a poster reading “Kennedy Center DEMOLISH.”
Beatty’s lawyer Norm Eisen said the board’s decision to close the center defied the court’s authority. “Closing the Kennedy Center without Judge Cooper’s approval appears to directly violate his order. This is an assault on the rule of law,” Eisen said. He added: “The board cannot simply ignore Judge Cooper’s rulings whenever it suits them. In this country, no one — including the president — is above the law.”