BREAKING: Trump-Led Kennedy Center Board Votes to Close for Renovations

United States President Donald J Trump and First Lady of the United States Milania Trump speak to the press at a Red Carpet event for the 48TH Kennedy Center Honors Red Carpet at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on Sunday, December 7, 2025. (Photo by Mattie Neretin/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

The board for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted again to approve President Donald Trump’s plan to close for renovations, two people familiar with the vote told The New York Times.

This vote will now need to be approved by a federal judge after a ruling that the board had been “derelict” in vetting the original closure plan.

The board’s vote, if it holds, would mean the closure of the Kennedy Center’s main building. A newer addition called The Reach would remain open for limited operations.

Trump announced in February a plan to close the Kennedy Center for renovations that would take two years.

Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time:

After a one year review of The Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between either Construction with Closure and Re-Opening or, Partial Construction while continuing Entertainment Operations through a much longer period of time, working in and around the Performances, I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!

According to the board’s resolution, they are committed to educational and arts programming going during the partial closure.

Trump, who leads the board, quickly got approval for the massive $250 million renovation project, which includes major structural work, marble floor additions, and more.

This is a breaking story and it has been updated. 

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