Trump to close Kennedy Center for renovations. What next? : NPR
On Sunday, President Trump announced that he would close the Kennedy Center in July for two years of renovations. Above, a tarp covers construction work on the building’s facade on Dec. 19, 2025, after Trump announced that the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts would be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
On Sunday evening, President Trump abruptly announced plans to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years “for construction, revitalization and complete reconstruction” to create what he said “may be, without question, the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world.”
The timing of this announcement surprised many people in Washington, D.C. and the arts world (and coincided with the annual Grammy Awards, which much of the music world was focused on). On Sunday evening, Richard Grenell, president of the Kennedy Center, sent a memo to the arts complex’s staff, obtained by NPR, in which he wrote: “We recognize that this creates many questions as we plan to temporarily close most of our operations. We will have more information on staffing and operational changes in the coming days.” In a public statement released on X Sunday, Grenell wrote: “I am confident that this paves the way for a stronger and revitalized national cultural and entertainment complex.”
We also have many questions that we are currently trying to answer. NPR reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment, but we did not receive a response. If you think we should ask any further questions, please add them below.
Shouldn’t Congress approve this?
On paper, yes. The Kennedy Center’s charter states that it is a living memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy and that it aims to “preserve, foster, and transmit the performing arts traditions of the people of the United States and other countries.” But Congress has yet to make a decision on the complex’s name change announced in December.
What happens to organizations, artists and unions that currently have open contracts with the Kennedy Center?
These include long-running broadcasts like Shear Madnesswhich is currently booked at the center through October and several unions contracted with the Kennedy Center, which range from National Symphony musicians — whose current contract expires next month — to backstage crew and education staff.
What is President Trump’s vision for this complex?
Artistic disciplines such as opera, classical music and dance have historically not been a priority for him; for example, he did not attend any performances at the Kennedy Center during his first term and the most recent class of Kennedy Center honorees did not include any artists from these fields. Would a “complete reconstruction” leave room for these performing arts disciplines?
Where will the National Symphony, the Kennedy Center’s resident arts organization, go once it loses its home?
Their ticket sales have collapsed over the past year; Does this closure of their physical space allow them to extricate themselves from their financial relationship with the Kennedy Center?
Why did the president set July 4 as the closing date?
It’s traditionally the middle of the Kennedy Center’s musical theater season – this year’s announced programming includes touring productions of The strangers, Moulin Rouge! The musical And Back to the Future: The Musicalas well as shows for children. What will happen this season?
Why now?
The Kennedy Center was expanded and renovated in 2019. It’s an old facility that needs work, but what wasn’t done then that Trump says is needed now? A source close to the Kennedy Center told NPR that among the changes Trump has expressed enthusiasm for is the idea of installing marble armrests in every seat in the main theater — which, in addition to being cold and uncomfortable, would radically change the room’s acoustics, experts say.
What happens to the valuable and valuable artwork and historical artifacts housed at the Kennedy Center?
These range from the famous bust of President Kennedy in its Great Hall to the cultural treasures donated by various African nations in its African Salon. What will happen to these works of art, these cultural references and these archival pieces? In 1980, as a private citizen, Trump demolished two Art Deco friezes from the former Bonwit Teller department store on Fifth Avenue in New York, which the Metropolitan Museum of Art had expressed interest in acquiring. The site would become his Trump Tower. Last October, the entire East Wing of the White House was demolished, despite concerns from preservationists and historians.
Will the new version of the complex still be linked to President Kennedy’s name and legacy?
In a social media post Monday morning, Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson who is currently running for a congressional seat in New York’s 12th District, indicated he didn’t think so. He wrote: “He [Trump] can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, close the doors and demolish the building. He may try to kill JFK. But JFK is being kept alive because of our current mobilization to impeach Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations have fought for. »
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