The Kennedy Center has been accused of not opening on purpose after a court order
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Those in charge of the Kennedy Center were accused by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, for intentionally allowing the Washington, DC, area to become an “unhealthy husk” by not continuing regular shows and programs.
Beatty, a former Kennedy Center board member, initially filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump in December 2025, when the board decided to place signs displaying his name next to Kennedy’s on the building.
According to a court filing Friday, Beatty’s legal team said the current board, with Trump as chairman, is violating a May court order by “refusing to take any steps to maintain the Center’s operations, and will effectively close the Center as an arts venue by July 5, 2026.”
“They plan to turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk,” wrote Beatty’s lawyers.
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Attorney Joyce Beatty speaks next to scaffolding at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on June 12, 2026, as construction workers work nearby. (Washington Post)
The Kennedy Center’s attorneys responded by saying: “The Court’s order did not warrant the Board to reschedule previously canceled programs or seek new programs.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kennedy Center and the White House for further comment.
An order by US District Judge Christopher Cooper prevented the Kennedy Center from beginning its planned two-year shutdown for renovations. Cooper also ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the building, which happened last weekend.
Cooper’s 94-page order last month did not specifically state that shows should resume immediately, as there are “at least some plans to resume rehearsals, performances and educational programs.”
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He said the board “has an affirmative duty to run the Center’s programs and preserve the memory of President Kennedy. It may not just stop exhibiting altogether.”
President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office during a ceremony to present the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees, including musicians Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss of the rock band KISS, actors Sylvester Stallone and Michael Crawford, and country singer George Strait on Dec. 6, 2025, Washington, DC, Washington, DC (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
The Kennedy Center said its management will begin presenting recommendations regarding plans to reopen.
Local advocates say the board is considering a number of options, including a complete shutdown without programs, a partial shutdown that would keep some areas open to the public and allow operations in unaffected areas, and a phased maintenance plan that would restore the program’s full schedule.
A vote on the options, which they say has not been finalized, will be held in mid-July, Kennedy Center lawyers said.
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The battle over the Kennedy Center began in February 2025, shortly after Trump was inaugurated for a second term as president. He entered the positions of many trustees on the board, and also appointed himself a trustee.
A new pro-Trump board then elected him as chairman, which enabled him to fire the agency’s former president, Deborah Rutter. In his speech in May 2025, he said that under Rutter’s leadership, the board “wasted millions and millions of dollars and gave us a budget deficit of $26 million.”
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and US District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the building. (Getty / and US District Court in DC)
“In addition, the program was out of control with rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows. We had very inappropriate shows, to put it-I think, to put it very well,” added Trump.
And in May 2025, the new board stripped all 23 ex-officio members of their voting rights. Members of this category include notable Democrats, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Trump administration officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Education Secretary Linda McMahon among them.
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In February of this year, Trump announced a two-year ban on Truth Social, which was later blocked due to Beatty’s case.
The saga came to a head on June 13, when workers began removing Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. The sign previously read “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts.”
