Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio speaks as workers erect scaffolding at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Rep. Joyce Beatty asked a judge Wednesday to hold an emergency hearing on what the Ohio Democratic Party called the “unlawful” closure of the Kennedy Center by President Donald Trump and the performing arts venue’s board of directors.
Beatty’s motion says the closure is “in clear violation” of a preliminary order from U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington.
Mr. Cooper late Wednesday ordered Mr. Trump and the board to respond to Mr. Beatty’s request by Thursday morning.
“After considering the response, the court will schedule an expedited hearing if necessary,” Cooper said in his order.
Beatty’s request came a day after the board of directors, of which she is an ex-officio member, voted to close the Kennedy Center for renovations. President Trump said late Tuesday that it would be shut down “immediately.”
President Trump also said that planned renovations and reconstruction of Washington Center will not begin until a federal appeals court or the Supreme Court rules that his name can be included in the facility’s official name.
Officials from the law firm representing Mr. Beatty visited the center Wednesday morning and were barred from entering, according to the motion by lawmakers. The motion states that officials were “informed by several security personnel that the building is currently closed to the public.”
“Furthermore, staff were informed that construction had begun inside the building and that the public was completely prohibited from entering the facility for ‘safety reasons,'” the filing states.
“Closing the Kennedy Center without Judge Cooper’s approval appears to be in direct violation of Judge Cooper’s order. This is an attack on the rule of law,” Beatty’s attorneys, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, said in a statement.
“The board cannot simply ignore Judge Cooper’s ruling whenever it sees fit. No one is above the law in this country, including the president,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers pointed to the May Cooper decision, which ordered Mr. Trump’s name removed from the center and barred it from closing “until the board approves a closure consistent with the ‘Cooper decision’ and the court issues further orders resolving or modifying this preliminary injunction.”
In December, the Kennedy Center’s board of directors, which President Trump personally appointed as director, voted to rename the center in honor of the late President John F. Kennedy. The facility subsequently became known as the Trump Kennedy Center, but Congress never officially changed its name.
Mr. Beatty filed suit in December seeking to reverse the board’s action. Mr. Cooper ordered Mr. Trump’s name stripped in May.
“Congress named the Kennedy Center, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper said in his ruling.
The Justice Department, which represents President Trump and the board in the case, did not respond to requests for comment.
The Justice Department is appealing Cooper’s decision Tuesday that barred the board from adding Trump’s name back to the building or naming the center’s grounds after him.
In an Aug. 13 resolution, the board said it intended to “recognize and honor President Trump’s unprecedented contributions to the center’s survival and future viability.”
The board planned to inscribe the words “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” below what currently reads “John F. Kennedy Memorial Performing Arts Center.”
The board also announced that the center’s physical site will be named “Donald J. Trump Presidential Plaza.”
“Simply put, defendants cannot install monuments to President Trump or any other person or to the Kennedy Center without Congressional approval,” Cooper said in Tuesday’s order.
“The board’s resolution is contrary to federal court orders and Congressional statutes,” the judge said.
