The U.S. newspaper reported that the board recommended immediate closure of the main building due to cost reasons.
Published September 14, 2026
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., is on the verge of bankruptcy and could close as early as Tuesday, the Washington Post reported.
The organization’s board of directors, chaired by President Donald Trump, argued that putting the president’s name forward may be the only way to avoid imminent “certain financial collapse,” according to a US newspaper report on Sunday.
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The trustees also say the agency will not be able to pay its employees or make maintenance payments within weeks.
The assessment was laid out in a 57-page report ahead of Tuesday’s special meeting, where President Trump’s board is expected to consider two major issues affecting the performing arts center: the financial crisis and physical issues that require renovations to the building.
The Post reported that board members are recommending immediate closure of the main building due to cost.
The paper also said it would support the Kennedy Center if Trump was confirmed to be involved. The paper said the trustees’ report represented “a remarkable new step in the takeover of the Kennedy Center, which has been embroiled in financial turmoil, leadership turmoil and litigation since Mr. Trump became director last year.”
The Kennedy Center is named in honor of the late U.S. president, who championed civil rights until his assassination in 1963.
Trump became chairman of the Kennedy Center shortly after beginning his second term last year, and in December his hand-picked board of directors voted to change the center’s name to the Trump Kennedy Center, a move later blocked in court.
Many artists have canceled concerts following President Trump’s takeover, and US media reports that ticket sales have fallen to their lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic.
The newspaper reported that the center is expected to recoup about $124 million of the $220 million projected revenue budgeted for this year, leaving it with a “deficit of about $23 million even after significant spending cuts.”
A spokeswoman for the center blamed the problem on “financial mismanagement by previous leadership” and said Trump’s name had attracted new donors.
