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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026<\/p>\n
United States President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has warned that Washington, DC\u2019s Kennedy Center could be demolished if renovations are not allowed to be completed.<\/p>\n
In a Monday court filing<\/a>, US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers told a federal judge the performing arts venue is in \u201cterrible trouble,\u201d adding that it \u201ccannot survive, either structurally or financially\u201d without the help of the president or his administration.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cWithout those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,\u201d the filing said.<\/p>\n According to the DOJ filing, an outdoor ampitheatre, overlooking the adjacent Potomac River, could be built on the site if the venue is torn down. The lawyers said that replacement \u2013 which they noted would \u201cfail to adequately honor\u201d the venue\u2019s namesake, former US President John F Kennedy \u2013 would be \u201csimpler and more economical\u201d.<\/p>\n The revelation, which marks the most extreme action mentioned for the venue since Trump took control of it after returning to the White House for a second term in 2025, was contained within the administration\u2019s response to an effort to block his name from being inscribed on the building.<\/p>\n US Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat who sits on the Kennedy Center\u2019s board through her leadership position in Congress, sued after Trump-appointed board members voted 20-3 to add the phrase \u201crestored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump\u201d beneath existing signage. Previously, the board renamed the venue after Trump before a judge ordered that his name be removed from the building\u2019s fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n Any decision to tear down the historic Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 to honour the fallen president, would likely face stiff pushback from preservation groups and those opposed to Trump\u2019s efforts to make changes at the site.<\/p>\n Norm Eisen, one of Beatty\u2019s attorneys, slammed the administration for considering a teardown of the venue, promising a legal response.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration is now threatening in federal court to LEVEL the Kennedy Center if Trump does not get his way,\u201d Eisen wrote on X<\/a> Tuesday. \u201cHis path of destruction knows no bounds & he will answer for it in court.\u201d<\/p>\n DOJ lawyers also made their case for why renovations should be allowed, writing in the filing that the venue \u201cis structurally unsound, fundamentally unsafe, and embarrassing to the Nation\u2019s Capital\u201d.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Kennedy Center\u2019s executive director, Matt Floca, said in a legal filing<\/a> that renovations would include a \u201ctotal replacement of stage lifts and rigging systems\u201d, as well as electrical work and efforts to prevent water leaks.<\/p>\n Trump announced in February that he would close the building for two years of renovations before a judge blocked the move, saying that an earlier board vote endorsing the move was \u201cill-informed and seemingly preordained\u201d. Earlier this month, the board voted<\/a> to move forward with the closure.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately reply to Al Jazeera\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Department of Justice lawyers told a federal judge the venue \u2018cannot survive\u2019 without the US president\u2019s help. 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