A seat at the table, but no vote yet for a Democratic lawmaker in the Kennedy Center board showdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled on Saturday that a Democratic lawmaker is entitled to participate at a board meeting for discussing President Donald Trump’s plan to close down the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years of renovations.
But the judge is not forcing the board to let Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member through her position in Congress, vote at Monday’s session.
She sued to preclude the Trump administration from excluding her from the meeting where board members are expected to decide whether to approve the Republican president’s proposal to shutter the center during the construction project.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded that the board must give Beatty documents about the closure and renovation plans because withholding that information before the vote would prevent her from doing her job as a trustee. She must also be allowed to speak at the meeting, he said.
“The Court finds, however, that Beatty has not carried her burden as to her right to vote, at least at this very early stage,” Cooper said. The judge said allowing her to participate and engage in deliberations means “the marginal harm to her from not voting is much less, as she will be able to lodge her objections on the record and have the opportunity to persuade her colleagues of her position.”
There was no immediate response from Beatty and the Kennedy Center to requests for comment on the ruling.
After Cooper heard arguments Thursday, Beatty told reporters she went to court to stand up for the rule of law and democracy.
“I want to know where your money — our money — is going,” she said outside the courthouse.
Beatty’s lawyer, Nathaniel Zelinsky, said the White House has engaged in a pattern of trying to stifle dissent at meetings like the one scheduled for Monday.
“We’re not asking for something unusual,” he told the judge. “It’s my friends on the other side you are asking you to deviate from the norm.”
Cooper pressed Justice Department lawyer William Jankowski to explain why the administration balked at providing Beatty with details of its plans for the meeting.
“Why not just give her the information?” the judge asked. “How is the government harmed?”
Jankowski said the information — possibly a work in progress — should be provided to Beatty and other meeting participants by Monday.
“An action isn’t final until it’s final,” he told Cooper.
Trump paid scant attention to the Kennedy Center during his first term, breaking with tradition and skipping all four of the annual honors awards program after some of those being honored in 2017, Trump’s first year as president, threatened to boycott if he participated in the festivities.
But he has shown much higher level of interest than any other recent president in the performing arts center’s operations after he returned to office in January 2025. Trump named loyal supporters such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and longtime aide Dan Scavino to the board to replace members he had not appointed, and the reconstituted board subsequently elected him as chairman.
Trump involved himself in the selection of artists to be recognized as 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees and hosted the program. He has complained about the building’s appearance and secured $257 million from Congress for the Kennedy Center in a tax cut and spending bill he signed into law last summer. Richard Grenell, the ally Trump appointed as the center’s president, has criticized the Kennedy Center’s finances. Trump announced on Friday that Grennell will step down from his post and be succeeded by Matt Floca, who manages the Kennedy Center’s facilities operations. The moves are expected to be finalized at the board’s Monday meeting.
The building has fallen on hard times since Trump stepped up his involvement in its operations. Numerous artists have canceled performances and attendance has dropped off.
In December, the board voted to add Trump’s name to Kennedy’s on the building’s exterior and it was done the following day, sparking outrage from some Kennedy family members.
In February, the president announced on social media that he was closing the Kennedy Center on July 4 for two years for renovations, subject to board approval.