Kennedy Center To ‘Immediately’ Close Down As Video Shows ‘Completely Unsafe Conditions’

The Kennedy Center will close down as the Trump administration seeks to move forward with renovations and continues to fight over the historic institution’s name. 

The center has faced significant financial struggles in recent years coupled with critical maintenance issues including dilapidated roofing. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for major renovations to the center for months, said it would be closing immediately on Tuesday after the institution’s board voted to shut it down. 

“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the renovations would be contingent on the result of a lawsuit over adding his name to the center. 

“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,” Trump said. “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.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shared a video on Monday of a piece of the Kennedy Center’s ceiling falling to the ground, saying that “failing roofing, collapsing concrete supports, and steel that is rotting have created completely unsafe conditions.”

The decision to close the center comes after Obama-appointed Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Tuesday that Trump’s name could not be added to the Kennedy Center without congressional approval. Trump said Tuesday that the Justice Department would immediately appeal Cooper’s decision. 

“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,” Trump said. 

Trump has advocated for the center to be shut down for renovations as it faces dire financial headwinds. Estimates given to the center’s board of trustees ahead of the vote to close down indicated that it would not be able to make payroll and pay maintenance contracts within “a matter of weeks.”