The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to inscribe President Donald Trump’s name on the building and close the main building for two years for renovations, according to a statement from Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and her lawyers.
The board voted to inscribe “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” under the building’s name, according to Beatty, who filed the original lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the building and block the closure for renovations.
A source familiar with the meeting told MS NOW that the proposed inscription was not included in the agenda that members were provided two days before the meeting. At least one board member said she was not given advance notice that it would be brought up on Thursday.
A legal challenge to the proposed inscription is likely, given the news comes two months after the president’s name was taken off the facade following a federal judge’s ruling that its name — which was approved by Congress — cannot be changed.
In a statement Thursday, Beatty called the news “a transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling” and said she would continue to fight for this treasured national monument.”
Spokespeople for the Kennedy Center and the White House did not immediately respond to questions from MS NOW on Thursday afternoon.
The news was first reported by the New York Times earlier Thursday.
The board also voted on Thursday to close the main building for renovations after the president announced a two-year renovation project in February. When he blocked the name change, D.C. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked a closure that was set to take effect in July. He called the move “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.”
The board’s resolution also proposed honoring the president for restoring the center “from the brink of disaster,” including by potentially naming the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” the Times reported.
“It is hereby resolved that the center desires to recognize and honor President Trump’s existential and unprecedented contributions to the survival of the center by all legal means,” the resolution said, according to the Times.
The vote is the latest show of the board’s fealty to Trump. The president has stacked the board with his allies, who voted last year to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center, drawing fierce backlash from critics.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Jesse Rodriguez contributed reporting.
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