WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Joyce Beatty and a coalition of cultural preservation and architecture groups filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to halt the planned closure of the Kennedy Center for renovations and to remove President Trump's name from the building. The coalition, which includes the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is asking the court to block the closure until a renovation plan is submitted to Congress for approval.

Both hearings were presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper. Beatty, an ex-officio trustee of the Kennedy Center, is a plaintiff in the suit to remove Trump's name from the facade. By law, the Kennedy Center is a living memorial to slain President John F. Kennedy.

Less than two months into his second term, Trump fired the Kennedy Center's leadership and ousted board members appointed by President Joe Biden, replacing them with loyalists who then voted to make him board chair. The trustees later voted to add Trump's name to the building, and the name was installed on the facade. The center's gold columns were painted white, and weeping willow trees on the plaza overlooking the Potomac River were cut down.

Congress approved $257 million for capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures at the Kennedy Center. Matt Floca, the center's executive director and chief operating officer, cited extensive water damage, outdated electrical systems, and degraded concrete among the deferred maintenance issues, and recommended the center close while renovations took place. He said the $257 million needs to be spent by 2029 and that a comprehensive renovation plan is in the works. Floca said the planned work is repair work and that the exterior will not be changed.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they are not disputing the need for repairs but that a comprehensive plan has not been submitted to Congress, and noted that the center has remained open during past renovation work. Attorney Abbe Lowell cited Trump's claim that his White House ballroom design would not interfere with the East Wing and then pointed to the demolition of the East Wing without Congressional approval. Lowell asked Floca if he was familiar with the expression "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?" Floca conceded that Trump is involved in all aspects of the renovations and restoration.

Trump referred to the planned construction as a "new and spectacular Entertainment Complex" and a "new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come." An amendment to the center's founding statute states: "after December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."