Key takeaways:
- An internal Kennedy Center report says the institution may be unable to meet payroll or maintenance costs within weeks and recommends closing the main building immediately.
- Rep. Joyce Beatty filed board resolutions in federal court Monday challenging the center’s safety claims as litigation continues over renaming the building for President Trump.
- The Kennedy Center has faced leadership upheaval, artist departures, cancellations and a reported 36% drop in subscription sales since Trump became chair in 2025.
The Kennedy Center’s leaders have warned that the Washington arts institution is nearing bankruptcy and could close its main building as soon as Tuesday, according to documents reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by NPR.
The warning came in a 57-page internal report circulated to trustees ahead of a Tuesday board meeting. The report says the center is in such a “precarious fiscal position” that within weeks it may be unable to meet payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts. It also recommends immediately closing the main building, citing safety concerns tied to deferred maintenance.
The board meeting is scheduled for the same day as a status hearing before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in a federal lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex-officio board member, seeking to stop the renaming of the center to honor President Donald Trump. Critics of the current Kennedy Center administration questioned the timing of the report.
Beatty filed two board resolutions with the court Monday. One resolution says the center plans to shut down immediately because it is unsafe for continued occupancy. In an accompanying filing, Beatty said construction consultants hired by the board had not made such a finding.
The Kennedy Center declined to comment to NPR on Monday. Reached by The Guardian, the center declined to address the leaked documents directly or comment ahead of board deliberations. It pointed to a statement issued after part of the ceiling in the main hall collapsed on Sept. 4 or Sept. 5, an incident the center attributed to rain damage.
“Another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed,” Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, said in that statement. “This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there’s no justification for further delays in restoring America’s cultural center.”
The center’s current leadership has argued that adding Trump’s name to the building may be necessary to avoid fiscal collapse and unlock major fundraising. According to NPR, the administration’s position is that Trump is the only person who can raise money at the necessary scale and oversee a major renovation, and that his name should be displayed as major donors’ names often are at hospitals or universities.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made a similar argument outside a court hearing last month. His wife, Allison Lutnick, was named to the Kennedy Center board in February 2025.
“Basically, it would cost four or $500 million if you do it over time or it’ll cost $257 million if President Trump is the construction manager,” Lutnick said. “He has the power and he has the expertise to get this done. He is the greatest builder in the world. And he will get it done on time and on budget.”
The leadership dispute dates to February 2025, when Trump dismissed 18 board members appointed under Joe Biden. Days later, the remaining trustees, including several Trump allies, voted him in as chair. The board also fired Deborah Rutter, who had led the center since 2014 and had planned to step down later that year, and replaced her with Richard Grenell, a Trump ally. Grenell was succeeded in March by Matt Floca, formerly the center’s vice president of facilities operations.
The takeover prompted resignations and cancellations. The Guardian reported that board treasurer Shonda Rhimes, National Symphony Orchestra artistic adviser Ben Folds and opera singer Renée Fleming resigned, while actor Issa Rae canceled a sold-out show. The Post reported that subscription sales had fallen 36% by June 2025. A Kennedy Center spokesperson attributed the decline to broader Broadway industry trends.
A judge ruled in May that adding Trump’s name to the facade was illegal, and it was removed in June after an emergency appeal failed. In August, the board again voted to restore the name and close the venue for a multiyear renovation, according to court filings. The center later told a federal judge it would delay adding the name until at least Oct. 8.
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