The Kennedy Center indicated that it won’t host any new performances after a judge blocked plans to shut it down for two years for remodeling.
The Trump administration has experienced several losses in the courts over its handling of the Kennedy Center, the most recent of which halted the President Donald Trump-aligned board’s plans to shut down the center temporarily for remodeling and removed Trump’s name from the building. In a Friday court filing, the Kennedy Center’s lawyers outlined its creative solution — to “maintain an operational model,” with public spaces open for use, but new shows won’t be scheduled.
“The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been canceled or to seek new programming,” they wrote.
The news came in response to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordering the Kennedy Center’s leadership to provide him with an update on the status of the center by Friday.
The Kennedy Center said that it was presenting three renovation plans to the board to vote on, including a partial closing with “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” and another option to “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”
Lawyers for plaintiff Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) took issue with the plan, arguing that it didn’t comply with Cooper’s order.
JUDGE PRESSES WHITE HOUSE OVER PLAN TO KEEP KENNEDY CENTER OPEN
“Having gutted staff and programming, Defendants believe they can sit back and allow their pre-planned shutdown to commence,” they wrote.
A tarp remains hung over the front of the Kennedy Center, covering where workers took down Trump’s name from the building last week.