Recent court filings and board resolutions are revealing new details regarding ongoing projects at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and the White House ballroom, as legal battles continue over President Donald Trump’s initiatives at both Washington institutions.
White House ballroom construction project
At the White House, the ballroom construction project involves millions of pounds of steel and rebar, miles of conduit, and a crew of more than 200 people working nearly around the clock on the site of the demolished East Room, according to court filings.
Judge Christopher Cooper
Meanwhile, the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center has advanced a plan to restore the president’s name to the building following a court-ordered removal earlier this year. U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the institution had illegally added Trump’s name to the exterior, and construction crews removed it overnight on June 13. A tarp and scaffolding have since covered the front portico.
Trump Kennedy Center Fund
Under a resolution approved by the Trump-aligned board, the exterior inscription is planned to read: The John F.
Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J.
Trump.
Trump Plaza.
The board stated that it will not implement these changes before September 8.
The board’s resolution asserted that the center would be in financial ruin without President Trump's unique stature as both an unparalleled fundraiser and world-class developer.
Congress originally named the performing arts center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, and federal law prohibits the board from making the center into a memorial to anyone else or placing another person’s name on the exterior.
Rep. Joyce Beatty
In response to the board’s actions, U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, filed an emergency request asking a federal court to block the return of the president’s name, arguing the board’s actions violate an earlier court order. Legal representatives for the Kennedy Center stated that the scaffolding currently remaining on the facade serves as a safety barrier and is necessary for ongoing construction, water testing, and structural repairs to the roof overhang.
