Congress Members Write in Protest of Planned Kennedy Center Closure

Led by two members of the United States House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin and Suzanne Bonamici, 69 of their colleagues have demanded that the Trump Administration immediately halt the planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center for supposed renovations, which they say could violate federal law.

The planned closure from July 2026 could see the cancellation of more than 2,200 annual performances and exhibits, plus eliminate 400 free community events, reads a press release from Raskin. 

In their letter to Trump, the Congress members raised specific concerns regarding the Kennedy Center’s employees, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and that the decision to close the venue could “destabilize” these ensembles or “threaten their existence altogether.”

According to the ABC, Trump says that the planned renovations, which he estimates will be around $200 million, will see the steel of the building “fully exposed” in the process but insisted that he would not be “ripping [the building] down.” This pronouncement comes as Trump has recently demolished the historic East Wing of the White House in favor of the addition of a $300 million ballroom. 

“We write to ask you to immediately provide us with all relevant information about your reported decision to shutter the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the next two years,” the letter reads. “This decision likely violates the essential purposes and intent of the federal law establishing this beloved national memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy and raises a multiplicity of serious legal and policy questions that need to be addressed before anything irreversible happens.

“Far from being ‘tired, broken, and dilapidated,’ the Kennedy Center was beautifully renovated and expanded as recently as 2019,” it continued. “Remaking this ‘national memorial’ as a monument to anyone or anything other than President Kennedy is plainly contrary to federal law and ultra vires.

“We are frankly alarmed that this assault on the Kennedy Center community seems to reflect your recurring impulse to destroy independent art and music in our nation. In a radical departure from the Center’s proudly bipartisan history, you purged the Kennedy Center Board of its independent Trustees, amended the Board’s bylaws to vest all voting power in your appointed loyalists, and even, shockingly, added your own name like a delinquent graffiti artist to the only national memorial for the late beloved President John F. Kennedy.”

The letter goes on to demand that President Trump explain in detail how his administration will adhere to the National Cultural Center Act and to disclose the source of public and private funds planned for renovations.

Since Trump’s takeover of the venue, many high-profile artists have withdrawn their shows, including Philip Glass, Renée Fleming, and the cast of Hamilton. Additionally, the Washington National Opera ended its more than fifty-year residency at the center.

More recently, the Kennedy Center Arts Workers United also released a public statement in response to the planned closure of the major cultural institution, while singer Patti Lupone expressed her frustration at the trajectory of the Kennedy Center under the new leadership at one of her concerts at Carnegie Hall. 

“This is now about the Kennedy Center. It’s time for us — it’s over time for us! — to rise up and speak,” Lupone told her audience. “Take to social media or however you can to get the information out that Trump cannot! cannot! cannot! touch the Kennedy Center!”

“I’m sorry but I’m so mad,” she continued. “This actually strikes close to home because art is the soul of the nation. And think about it, when was the last time you heard the words ‘art’ and ‘culture’ in a conversation in this country? We have to speak up again. We have to elevate it, and one of the ways we’re going to elevate it is to keep the buildings standing.”