The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to demolish the Kennedy Center in Washington if a court does not allow the building to be closed for two years for a major reconstruction. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing The Hill, this is stated in a court document submitted by administration representatives on Monday. The threat was made in the context of ongoing litigation, at the center of which is a dispute over the legality of placing the president's name on the building's facade and over plans to rebuild it.
Justice Department's position: a "derelict structure"
In the submitted documents, Justice Department attorney Brantley T. Myers repeatedly characterized the Kennedy Center as a "derelict structure" in urgent need of reconstruction under the Trump administration. In his view, without repairs the building "will continue to deteriorate, turning into a dangerous, abandoned structure that will have to be demolished." After that, Myers noted, the question will arise of what to build on the freed-up site; one of the options discussed for many years, he said, is an amphitheater with a view of the Potomac River.
Myers also stated that if the president is not given permission to renovate the center, it could lead to a drain of donors, a reduction in financial contributions, and a halt to the reconstruction. "There simply will be neither the necessary expertise nor the funding to restore and rebuild this dilapidated structure. The Trump administration is ready to act, but without it the Kennedy Center cannot be saved," the Justice Department attorney emphasized.
Beatty's lawsuit and the dispute over Trump's name
The Justice Department's statements came in the context of the court case brought by Joyce Beatty, a Democratic congresswoman from Ohio who, by virtue of her position, sits on the Kennedy Center's board. Beatty argues that adding Trump's name to the building's title without direct authorization from Congress is illegal, since the president had previously insisted on placing his name next to the "Kennedy Center" inscription. Moreover, the Democrat believes that the plans for a large-scale rebuild of the center and its closure for two years were not properly presented to the board.
Recall that earlier this year a court ruled that Trump's name cannot legally be added to the building's title and ordered the corresponding inscriptions to be removed. However, as noted, the letters were not taken down from the facade — they were simply covered with canvas. The Kennedy Center's board, the majority of whose members were appointed by Trump, voted to place a separate inscription under the center's name: "Restored and reconstructed by President Donald J. Trump."
Contradictory data
The statements of the parties contain significant discrepancies that must be honestly reflected. Through the Justice Department, the administration describes the Kennedy Center as a "derelict" and "dilapidated" structure that, without reconstruction, will have to be demolished, and presents the two-year closure as the only way to save the building. Congresswoman Beatty, by contrast, insists that the rebuild and closure plans were not properly presented to the center's board, and that adding the president's name without Congress's sanction is illegal. A separate inconsistency concerns the signage: the court ordered Trump's name removed from the facade, but, according to available data, the letters were not taken down but merely covered with canvas, while the center's board voted for a separate inscription bearing the president's name. Thus, the actual condition of the building and the status of its signage remain a matter of dispute between the parties, and the threat of demolition is a conditional argument in the court case rather than a confirmed decision to demolish.
