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WASHINGTON (CN) — A coalition of cultural and architectural organizations sued the Trump administration on Monday in an effort to block the planned two-year closure and reconstruction of the Kennedy Center.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, joined by the D.C. Preservation League, the American Institute of Architects and the Society of Architectural Historians, among others, filed the 82-page lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
On March 16, the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and President Donald Trump, the board’s chair, voted to close the nation’s premier art center in July before undertaking major structural work that would include demolition and reconstruction.
“The intent of the Board of Trustees and Mr. Trump is clear: to fundamentally alter this iconic property without complying with bedrock federal historic preservation and environmental laws, and without securing the necessary congressional authorization,” the coalition said. “And the harm is imminent, as the Board of Trustees and Mr. Trump admit they have already commenced preliminary construction work.”
According to the coalition, the board is required to first submit its proposal to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, complete review under the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act and secure express congressional approval before starting the project.
The coalition wants a federal judge to freeze the closure and reconstruction project given Trump and the board’s public statements “which at a minimum signal an intent to hastily gut the Kennedy Center down to its structural steel studs.”
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, likened the president’s Kennedy Center plans to his White House ballroom project in a statement announcing the suit.
“We’re concerned that, as with the White House East Wing, the potential scope of planned changes is understated and will result in irreparable loss,” Quillen said. “We respectfully urge the administration to follow all required consultative processes. Doing so will improve the design and enable transparency and public engagement — values benefiting a government by the people.”
The Trust has also challenged the ballroom project and similarly asked Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to freeze its construction until the White House goes through the proper channels for review.
Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, slammed the Justice Department’s defense that the $400 million project — which began with the sudden demolition of the White House East Wing last October — was a mere “alteration” authorized under federal law as “quite brazen.”
Like the ballroom project, the Kennedy Center is the latest example of Trump seeking to remake the nation’s capital in his image, starting with new signage erected Dec. 19 on the theater’s outside facade that renamed it the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
He further repainted the golden columns lining the outside of the building to white.
Trump did not consult with the D.C. Department of Buildings, the D.C. State Historic Preservation Office, the National Capital Planning Commission or the Commission for Fine Arts in advance, a clear violation of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The following reconstruction plan sparked a federal lawsuit, filed by Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the board who was blocked from a December meeting regarding the addition of Trump’s name.
At a March 12 hearing, Beatty sought a temporary restraining order requiring the government to provide planning documents related to the closure and renovation and to allow her full participation in the March 16 meeting.
On March 14, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper partially granted the order, instructing the government to turn over the documents prior in advance and preventing it from categorically barring her from speaking.
During an interview with CNN on March 17, Beatty said she was the only member of the board to disagree with the Kennedy Center’s closure, but indicated other members expressed concern related to the reconstruction itself.
In a statement, D.C. Preservation League executive director Rebecca Miller urged a federal judge to enforce the statutory requirements for transparency, expert review and public participation before the cultural center could be “fundamentally altered.”
“The Kennedy Center is not a personal project of any president,” Miller said. “It is a national cultural monument built to honor John F. Kennedy and to serve the American people.”
The president’s moves have caused significant backlash, both among regular attendees and performers at the center.
Artists such as Philip Glass, Renée Fleming and Bela Fleck have called off performances, and the Washington National Opera ended its decadeslong residency there. As of last October, ticket sales had dropped by 50%.
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