Democratic lawmaker may attend Kennedy Center board meeting, judge rules | Donald Trump

A federal judge ruled Saturday that a Democratic lawmaker had the right to participate in a board meeting regarding Donald Trump’s plan to close the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years of renovations.

But the judge is not forcing the board to let Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member by virtue of her position in Congress, vote in Monday’s session.

Beatty filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from excluding him from the meeting where board members are expected to decide whether to approve the Republican president’s proposal to close the center during the construction project.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded that the board must provide Beatty with documents related to the closure and renovation projects because withholding that information before the vote would prevent him from doing his job as a trustee. She must also be allowed to speak at the meeting, he said.

“The Court finds, however, that Beatty failed to take responsibility for his right to vote, at least at this very early stage,” Cooper said. The judge said allowing her to participate and engage in the deliberations meant that “the marginal harm she would suffer by not voting would be much less, because she will be able to place her objections on the record and will have the opportunity to persuade her colleagues of her position”.

Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said the center “will comply with the court’s decision and will be happy to provide information demonstrating the need for closure and renovations.”

There was no immediate response from Beatty to requests for comment on the decision.

After Cooper heard arguments Thursday, Beatty told reporters she went to court to defend the rule of law and democracy.

“I want to know where your money – our money – is going,” she said outside the courthouse.

Beatty’s lawyer, Nathaniel Zelinsky, said the White House has a history of trying to stifle dissent in meetings like the one scheduled for Monday.

“We’re not asking for something unusual,” he told the judge. “It’s my friends on the other side who are asking you to deviate from the norm.”

Cooper pressed Justice Department attorney William Jankowski to explain why the administration was reluctant to provide Beatty with details of its plans for the meeting.

“Why not just give him the information?” » » asked the judge. “How is the government wronged? »

Jankowski said the information — perhaps a work in progress — should be provided to Beatty and others in the meeting by Monday.

“An action is only final when it is final,” he told Cooper.

Trump paid little attention to the Kennedy Center during his first term, breaking with tradition and skipping the four annual awards programs after some of those honored in 2017, Trump’s first year as president, threatened to boycott if he attended the festivities.

But he showed a much higher level of interest than any other recent president in the performing arts center’s operations after returning to office in January 2025. Trump appointed loyal supporters such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and his longtime aide Dan Scavino to the board to replace members he had not appointed, and the reconstituted board later elected him president.

Trump complained about the building’s appearance and secured $257 million from Congress for the Kennedy Center as part of a tax and spending cut bill he signed into law last summer. Richard Grenell, the ally appointed as president of the center by Trump, criticized the center’s finances and was removed from his post on Friday. Trump announced that Grennell would be replaced by Matt Floca, who manages facilities operations at the Kennedy Center. The decisions are expected to be finalized at Monday’s board meeting.

The building has fallen on hard times since Trump stepped up his involvement in its operations. Many artists canceled their performances and attendance plummeted.

In December, the board voted to add Trump’s name to Kennedy’s on the exterior of the building and it was done the next day, sparking outrage among some members of the Kennedy family.

In February, the president announced on social media that he would close the Kennedy Center on July 4 for two years for renovations, subject to board approval.