President Donald Trump is reimagining Washington, D.C. There is his huge ballroom on the White House grounds that is under construction. And a planned grand triumphal arch to honor the nation's 250th birthday. In addition, he seems to feel that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts needs a revamp, too. Therefore Trump added his name to the venue months ago. He also championed major renovations to the building.
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Then in May, ironically on President Kennedy's birthday, a federal judge ruled that Donald Trump's name had to come off the site and it also could not close for the two-year proposed overhaul. Now, in a big new twist, Trump's administration is contending that donor bucks will evaporate if Trump's name is not emblazoned on the Kennedy Center again. In that case, and also without enough money for sweeping renovations, they suggest that the "decrepit" edifice might then have to be demolished. Perhaps it could be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater, they suggested, per the Daily Mail. The contentious issue was revisited on Monday, August 24, due to a court filing.
Proposed Ways of Getting the President's Name Back on the Center
The Center's board of trustees, which the outlet calls "Trump-aligned," reportedly voted this month to restore his name to the building somehow. They floated new ways of wording it. For example, one iteration is "Renovated and Restored By President Donald J Trump." Another possibility is allegedly "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund." along with attaching Trump's name to the plaza at the Center.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat and ex officio member of the board, filed a lawsuit a while ago that resulted in Trump's name being taken off the Center in June. Beatty is now reportedly attempting to halt the implementation of those alternative methods of restoring Trump's name. Per the Mail, "A federal judge will hear arguments on that request on Thursday."
Justice Department Attorneys Described the Center in Dire Terms
According to the outlet, Justice Department lawyers in their Monday, August 24, filing, slammed the Center's condition. They allegedly called it "a financially insolvent facility, housed in a decrepit, dilapidated, crumbling building." They predicted it is headed for "ruin." Renovations are necessary to stop the Center's apparent physical deterioration. The attorneys supposedly claim that minus Trump's name on the Center, donor money will dwindle. Thus sufficient funds for a heavy-duty renovation will not be available.
