Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that the venue “cannot survive” without the president’s help.
Published August 25, 2026
President Donald Trump’s administration has warned that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., could be demolished if renovations are not allowed to be completed.
In a court filing Monday, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) told a federal judge that performing arts venues are in “terrible trouble,” adding that they are “structurally and financially unviable” without help from the president and his administration.
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“Without these efforts, the center would deteriorate further into an unsafe, dilapidated building that would require removal,” the application states.
If the venue is demolished, an outdoor amphitheater overlooking the adjacent Potomac River could be built on the site, according to a Justice Department filing. Lawyers said the alternative, which they noted “does not fully honor” the venue’s namesake, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, is “easier and more economical.”
The revelations mark the most extreme action mentioned regarding the venue since President Trump took control of the venue when he returned to the White House in 2025 for a second term, and were included in the administration’s response to efforts to prevent Trump’s name from being engraved on the building.
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves on the Kennedy Center’s board through her leadership in Congress, filed the lawsuit after board members appointed by President Trump voted 20-3 to add the words “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” below the existing sign. Previously, the board renamed the venue after Trump before a judge ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the building’s facade.
The decision to demolish the historic Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to fallen presidents, is likely to face fierce opposition from preservation groups and those who oppose President Trump’s efforts to make changes at the site.
Norm Eisen, one of Beatty’s lawyers, accused the government of considering demolishing the venue and promised legal action.
“The administration is now threatening in federal court to level the Kennedy Center if President Trump doesn’t get his way,” Eisen wrote on Tuesday. “His path of destruction knows no bounds. He will answer for it in court.”
Lawyers for the Justice Department also argued why the renovations should be allowed, writing in a filing that the venue is “structurally unsound, fundamentally unsafe and an embarrassment to the nation’s capital.”
Earlier this year, Matt Floca, executive director of the Kennedy Center, said in a legal filing that the renovations would include “a complete replacement of the stage lift and rigging system,” as well as electrical work and efforts to prevent water leaks.
President Trump announced in February that the building would be closed for two years of renovations before blocking the move, saying the board’s vote before a judge approved the move was “ill-informed and appears to have been premeditated.” Earlier this month, the board of directors voted to proceed with the closure.
The White House did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
