{"id":4496,"date":"2026-08-14T06:05:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T06:05:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:05:41","slug":"board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back"},"content":{"rendered":"

The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to temporarily close<\/a> the facility\u2019s main building for a major renovation project, and to affix President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the exterior facade. The decision comes months after a federal judge struck down a prior attempt to rename the cultural institution and halted a scheduled full shutdown of the venue.<\/p>\n

Under the newly approved plan, the arts complex will undergo a $250 million overhaul<\/a>, which includes structural repairs, fresh marble flooring, and $12 million dedicated to acoustical enhancements. To facilitate the work, the trustees chose \u201cto close the Kennedy Center\u2019s main building, while keeping a newer addition to the campus, known as the Reach, open for limited programming and to operate as an active memorial to John F Kennedy\u201d. The main campus is scheduled to remain closed for two years, with a targeted reopening set for the summer of 2028.<\/p>\n

In addition to the closure, the board\u2014composed largely of presidential appointees\u2014voted to add an inscription beneath the venue\u2019s existing exterior signage<\/a> that reads, \u201cRestored and Renovated by President Donald J Trump.\u201d The move directly tests a May ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who determined that earlier efforts to modify the official name violated federal statute because only Congress holds the authority to alter the memorial\u2019s designation. Cooper had previously blocked the center\u2019s planned closure after finding the initial board vote was \u201cill-informed and seemingly preordained\u201d.<\/p>\n

Opponents of the decision quickly signaled plans for further legal action. Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who sits on the board and previously sued to stop the changes, condemned the latest vote as \u201ca transparent effort to circumvent the Court\u2019s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed.\u201d Her attorneys added, \u201cToday\u2019s vote is more of the same, and a show of blatant disrespect to the courts,\u201d noting that \u201cThe court already ruled against the board when it bowed to Trump\u2019s demands. Now, the defendants must answer for their actions\u2014again\u2014in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House officials defended the board\u2019s decision<\/a>, praising the scope of the planned upgrades. Executive spokesperson Liz Huston stated, \u201cUnder President Trump\u2019s bold leadership, the Kennedy Center is on its way to becoming the finest cultural institution anywhere in the world.\u201d The board\u2019s latest determinations remain subject to review by Judge Cooper, who will assess whether trustees conducted sufficient due diligence before submitting their updated plans next week.<\/p>\n

Editorial credit: Amy Lutz \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to temporarily close the facility\u2019s main building for a major renovation project, and to affix President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the exterior facade. The decision comes months after a federal judge struck down a prior attempt to rename the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBoard of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to temporarily close the facility\u2019s main building for a major renovation project, and to affix President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the exterior facade. The decision comes months after a federal judge struck down a prior attempt to rename the… \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lite 99\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5\"},\"headline\":\"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/\",\"name\":\"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/14\\\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lite 99\",\"description\":\"Orlando's Lite Rock Favorites\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5\",\"name\":\"Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Staff\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/apolloonlinemedia.com\\\/lite99\\\/author\\\/stitch91\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99","og_description":"The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to temporarily close the facility\u2019s main building for a major renovation project, and to affix President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the exterior facade. The decision comes months after a federal judge struck down a prior attempt to rename the… ","og_url":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/","og_site_name":"Lite 99","article_published_time":"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00","author":"Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Staff","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/"},"author":{"name":"Staff","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/#\/schema\/person\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5"},"headline":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back","datePublished":"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/"},"wordCount":442,"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/","url":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/","name":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back | Lite 99","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-14T10:05:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/#\/schema\/person\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/2026\/08\/14\/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-kennedy-center-add-president-trumps-name-back\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Board of Trustees votes to temporarily close Kennedy Center, add President Trump\u2019s name back"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/#website","url":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/","name":"Lite 99","description":"Orlando's Lite Rock Favorites","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/#\/schema\/person\/af8049e45ced76d382e5dc29f6b0e7c5","name":"Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adb1113a964e37c6275d24eabf527d5b1ce3ddc03c3c46dfd5e8715f8278c44e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Staff"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com"],"url":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/author\/stitch91\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apolloonlinemedia.com\/lite99\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}