The Kennedy Center’s board voted again Thursday to shut most of the Washington, D.C., complex as part of a planned multi-year renovation, and also approved restoring President Donald J. Trump’s name on the building, according to a person briefed on the meeting.
This is the board’s second vote to approve a full closure. In March the board authorized a complete shutdown for major work, but a federal judge later temporarily blocked that closure, finding board members did not have “sufficient information” to make such a decision. The board’s latest actions will be subject to that judge’s approval. The closed-door meeting was held by Zoom and was not open to the public.
Under the newly approved plan, the Kennedy Center’s main building would close while The REACH, the 2019 addition, would remain open for limited programming and as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The board approved a roughly $250 million project that includes structural repairs, new marble floors, nearly $12 million in acoustical upgrades, and temporarily relocating the eight-foot bronze bust of John F. Kennedy from the main foyer. The timeline in the plan calls for the main campus to reopen in the summer of 2028. The decision to reapply Trump’s name would label the complex “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
Several Democrats who serve as ex-officio trustees told reporters in the days before the vote they still had not been given access to assessments outlining the long-term impacts of a full closure. The Kennedy Center is chaired by President Trump, and a majority of the current trustees are allies he appointed.
NPR requested comment from the Kennedy Center but did not receive an immediate response. The construction and project management firm named in planning documents, JLL, was identified in the proposal; it was not clear how many firms bid on the contract or whether JLL has prior experience with venues that rely on unamplified performances such as orchestras, chamber ensembles and opera.
Legal challenges are ongoing. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio board member, sued last December seeking to reverse the name change and block the renovation plans; a separate suit from eight architecture and culture groups also seeks to halt the work. In May, Judge Christopher Cooper temporarily blocked the March closure vote, writing that board members lacked the information needed to reach a well-considered decision. An appeals court later denied President Trump’s request to prevent the removal of his name, concluding he had not shown the center would be irreparably harmed without his name attached.
Trump has asserted on social media that a “one year review” involving contractors and musical experts supported his renovation plan; the judge found little evidence of such a review.
Rep. Beatty issued a statement calling Thursday’s vote and the surprise agenda item to restore Trump’s name an attempt to circumvent the court and Congress’s statutes and said she would continue to fight to protect the national monument.
The Kennedy Center’s operations and reputation have suffered since the name change was announced in December 2025. The Washington National Opera withdrew in January, many artists canceled engagements, ticket sales fell sharply, and numerous staff and administrators departed. Reporting from the Washington Post and internal sources shared with NPR indicated the National Symphony Orchestra is facing a severe financial crisis tied to the center’s turmoil.
In a separate legal matter last month, a D.C. superior court judge ordered the Kennedy Center to pay jazz musician Chuck Redd more than $252,000 in legal fees after the center sued him for canceling a long-running holiday show following the name change; the center said it intends to appeal.
Since complying with a court order to remove Trump’s name in June, the center’s entrance has been covered by a large tarp; the tarp remained in place as of Thursday. The board’s latest votes set up another legal test of whether the trustees can proceed with the planned closure and the reinstatement of the president’s name amid ongoing litigation and public scrutiny.
