The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees has voted to pursue the name President Donald J. Trump Plaza for the arts center’s grounds as the institution prepares for a sweeping renovation in Washington, D.C. The move is part of a broader effort by the board to recognize President Donald J. Trump’s role in the project while the landmark begins work on long-standing maintenance problems.
Fox News Digital reported that the board also wants the phrase Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund inscribed on the building once that fund reaches a $100 million endowment. In addition, the board approved language that would place an inscription below the center’s name reading, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board took those steps after voting Thursday to honor Trump’s contributions and to allow a partial closure for renovations.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the resolution recognizing Trump passed by a 20-3 supermajority. The partial-closure resolution passed 23-3. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, along with Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Rick Larsen of Washington, voted no on both measures. The latest action follows earlier friction over whether Trump’s name could be attached to the center, with a federal judge previously blocking a separate effort to rename the venue after him and stopping an earlier closure plan.
The board says the renovation is necessary after Trump secured $257 million from Congress to deal with years of deferred maintenance. The planned work is expected to address water infiltration, damaged electrical rooms, numerous structural failure points in the parking garage, and soffit panels weighing more than 2,000 pounds that have reached what the center described as end-of-life status and pose a public safety risk. The Kennedy Center said the partial-closure plan, developed after an independent analysis carried out under Judge Cooper’s orders, would leave a $3.4 million surplus. The alternative, involving four years of revolving closures, was projected to produce a $78 million deficit.
