Judge orders Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes
The ruling blocks major alterations, including demolition, while the court weighs safety concerns and a fight over adding President Donald Trump’s name.
- On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days' notice before major physical changes, a day after executive director Matt Floca closed the building for at least seven days citing "acute risks to public safety."
- Congress allocated $257 million for repairs, but President Donald Trump conditioned these funds on adding his name to the facade—a proposal Judge Cooper blocked in May, leaving the board restricted from altering the building's identity.
- Findings from an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse triggered the closure, while Rep. Joyce Beatty confronted the president during a Tuesday board meeting that resulted in an indefinite closure vote.
- Barbra Streisand, a 2008 Kennedy Center Honoree, criticized the closure in a statement to The Associated Press, describing the struggle over the institution as "galling and painful to witness."
- Officials plan to evaluate the building next week to determine if the closure will be extended, though Trump claimed that failing to restore the aging structure would lead to it being "ripped down" because of its "very, very bad shape.
85 Articles
85 Articles
Judge Orders Kennedy Center to Provide 30 Days’ Notice Before Major Physical Changes
The wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is covered by a tarp as work continues on the removal of President Donald Trump's name in Washington on June 13, 2026. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)
Judge orders 30-day notice before any 'demolition' of Kennedy Center
The Trump administration must give a 30-day notice before demolishing the Kennedy Center or straying from its planned renovations for the building, the Obama-appointed federal judge overseeing the performing arts center court battle ordered. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote in a minute order on Thursday that if the Trump administration makes “any changes […]
MyCentralOregon.com
Judge says Trump has to give 30 days notice before demolishing Kennedy Center
Workers walk past a recently closed John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday directed the Trump administration to
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