{"id":4165,"date":"2026-08-26T04:08:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4165"},"modified":"2026-08-26T04:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:08:44","slug":"kennedy-center-risks-financial-ruin-without-trumps-name-justice-department-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4165","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center risks financial ruin without Trump\u2019s name, Justice Department argues"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By JESSE BEDAYN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Justice Department attorneys argued that if President Donald Trump\u2019s name does not appear somewhere on the Kennedy Center, then the money from donors for renovations would shrivel up and the \u201cdecrepit, dilapidated\u201d cultural center may be \u201crequired to be taken down.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That came from a court filing late Monday on the long-running saga over whether the president\u2019s name can be added to the cultural institution and venue meant to honor John F. Kennedy after his assassination. The original attempt to add \u201cDonald J. Trump\u201d on the building\u2019s facade was halted by the court in May following a lawsuit from Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n

The center\u2019s Trump-aligned board of trustees then voted again this month to get the president\u2019s name back on the cultural institution in a different way: by appending \u201cRenovated and Restored By President Donald J. Trump\u201d under the title on the building\u2019s facade. Another phrase, \u201cEndowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund\u201d would be a possible addition, as well as renaming the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center to honor the president.<\/p>\n

In response, Beatty again asked the federal court to block those stylings, arguing that they were \u201cclear violations of the Kennedy Center statute\u201d that barred the board from making the center into a memorial to anyone else. A federal judge will hear arguments on that request on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Justice Department attorneys replied in Monday\u2019s filing with a grim picture of the state of the Kennedy Center: \u201ca financially insolvent facility, housed in a decrepit, dilapidated, crumbling building\u201d that \u201ccontinues to race toward physical and financial ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renovations were required, they argued, but \u201can order blocking the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee, financial contributions to dry up, and structural rehabilitation to stop. There will simply not be the expertise or funding necessary to rebuild and renovate this decimated structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If allowed to deteriorate further, they continued, the Kennedy Center \u201cwill be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That could be an outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River, they said, adding that it would \u201cfail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy\u201d but would be easier to build and maintain.<\/p>\n

This latest attempt to add Trump\u2019s name on and around the center was met with some incredulity from Beatty\u2019s attorneys, who said it \u201cis a transparent attempt to effectuate the renaming in another guise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again,\u201d they wrote. \u201cPlaintiff and the Court should not need to play Defendants\u2019 game of whack-a-mole.\u201d They requested a final ruling to stop the renaming attempts \u201cand put an end to this childish gambit.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time the board of trustees has used the argument that fundraising could be impeded without Trump\u2019s name on the building. A panel of judges in July said that the claim came without the support of \u201c specific facts or evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Kennedy Center has fallen on harder times since Trump got more involved, with several artists canceling performances and attendance dropping.<\/p>\n

This is one of several attempts by the presidential administration to put Trump\u2019s stamp on the U.S. capital, including a plan for a 250-foot (76-meter) triumphal arch, and, as Trump called it, a \u201cmilitary complex slash ballroom \u201d at the White House.<\/p>\n

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The center’s Trump-aligned board recently voted to add the phrase \u201cRestored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nKennedy Center risks financial ruin without Trump\u2019s name, Justice Department argues - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kennedy Center risks financial ruin without Trump\u2019s name, Justice Department argues - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The center's Trump-aligned board recently voted to add the phrase \u201cRestored and Renovated By President Donald J. 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