Kennedy Center Given More Time To Explain Why Tarps Remain

Topline A federal judge on Tuesday pushed back a deadline for the Kennedy Center to inform the court about its plans for future construction and operations, as well as the status of tarps and scaffolding that still stand outside the venue, as the center fights to reinstate President Donald Trump’s name.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered the Kennedy Center to explain the status of the tarps, which block where Trump’s name was removed from the venue’s sign last month, and its construction and operational plans by Aug. 20 or within five days of an August Kennedy Center board meeting, whichever is first.

Cooper vacated his previous order that directed the Kennedy Center to submit the report to the court by July 31 or within seven days of a July board meeting, noting the Kennedy Center had pushed back its board meeting to the first half of August.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who filed the initial lawsuit challenging the addition of Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, has condemned the tarps in court filings, accusing the defendants of “undermining the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s name.”

Cooper issued the order following an initial scheduling conference held Tuesday morning.

Large tarps and scaffolding have blocked the sign affixed to the Kennedy Center facade for more than six weeks. Workers erected the scaffolding and hung the tarps in the early hours of June 13 before removing Trump’s name from the center’s sign to comply with a court order. But no onlookers have been able to see the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s original name for themselves, which has frustrated some visitors as well as members of Congress. Beatty has accused the Kennedy Center in court filings of keeping the tarps up in “petulant defiance” of the court’s order to remove the Trump branding, also suggesting the tarps remain standing to “massage broken egos.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., accused the Kennedy Center of a “literal coverup” last month in a post on X, writing, “It will be a beautiful day when the name of the Kennedy Center is restored to visibility,” likening the addition of Trump’s name to vandalism. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi previously told the Washington Post the tarps are up so workers can repair the marble facade, but the center has given no indication when the tarps are expected to come down.

The Kennedy Center is still fighting a federal judge’s previous order that required it to remove Trump’s name, which the judge said violated a law that designates the ability to name the center to Congress. The center appealed the judge’s order to a federal appeals court, arguing in court filings the removal of Trump’s name will “substantially undermine fundraising and financial viability,” suggesting some donors have only pledged money to the center because it once included Trump’s name.

Cooper ruled in May the Kennedy Center must remove Trump’s name from all digital and physical branding, saying the center’s founding law “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy.” Early in his second term, Trump targeted the Kennedy Center over allegedly “woke” programming and purged the board of trustees, filling it with allies. The board appointed Trump chair and voted to add his name to the center, without seeking congressional approval. Cooper also blocked the Kennedy Center from closing for two years of renovations, saying the decision to close was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained” and based on an “insufficient, one-sided presentation of information” that ignored the center’s statutory obligations. The Kennedy Center has argued in court it does not need to reschedule programming, which Beatty said has turned it into a “lifeless husk.”

Federal Judge Demands Answers About Tarps Blocking Kennedy Center Sign (Forbes)

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