A tiff with an “incompetent” board member coincided with a decision to close the Kennedy Center after an Obama-appointed judge once again blocked an honor to President Donald Trump.
Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia issued his latest ruling on the Capital City performing arts venue, barring a board-approved nod to Trump’s efforts to renovate and repair the facility. What followed was a vote to close the center indefinitely over safety concerns as the president accused lawfare-leading board member Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty (D) of “holding up everything.”
Having previously blocked the name change to the Trump-Kennedy Center, Cooper asserted Tuesday that Congress must approve any use of the president’s name on the building: “Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”
After the ruling, Trump, in his capacity as chairman of the board of trustees, participated in a board meeting and later reported on Truth Social, “The Board of The Kennedy Center today agreed, almost unanimously, to close the Building for Safety reasons, and so that it can begin the process of Reconstruction.”
On that, he made clear that no work would be carried out until the court allowed for the latest name change to move forward, “The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name. If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 15, 2026
“The attorneys from the DOJ will ask for an expedited appeal. In the meantime, 17 Million Dollars, raised by President Trump, has been put into The Kennedy Center account to keep it afloat,” added Trump, as the Justice Department previously argued failure to credit the president would see fundraising efforts dry up, possibly resulting in a need to demolish the existing structure.
At the forefront of opposition, Beatty, the board member who brought suit in December 2025 over the name change effort, was reported by the Associated Press to have accused the president of causing “extreme harm” during an exchange with him at the latest meeting, according to an anonymous participant.
For his part, the chief executive was said to have described her as “incompetent” and “holding up everything,” labeling the congresswoman an “obstructionist.” NBC News further reported that the president allegedly called out Cooper as being “compromised because his wife, an attorney, represented former President Joe Biden … Trump also suggested there was something untoward about the judge’s wife’s not using her husband’s last name.”
Commenting on Beatty’s efforts to block the administration as the center documented a partial ceiling collapse as further evidence of safety risks, White House spokesman Davis Ingle stated, “Trump-deranged Dumocrats like Joyce Beatty oppose anything that celebrates the greatness of our country because they put America Last.”
“Another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed. Fortunately, no one was injured when the main hall’s ceiling collapsed.
This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance… pic.twitter.com/ooreyKQ9wC
— The Kennedy Center (@TKCOfficial) September 15, 2026
Another warning we can’t ignore. A section of the Grand Foyer ceiling collapsed after this week’s storms. Thankfully no one was hurt. Decades of deferred maintenance made this inevitable.
Chairman President Trump has been right: America’s cultural center needs to close,… pic.twitter.com/Z1KrNsk78p
— The Kennedy Center (@TKCOfficial) September 5, 2026
