Historic preservation and architecture organizations will present their case to a federal judge Wednesday, seeking to block the Trump administration’s extensive renovation plans for Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper will conduct a 10 a.m. hearing to review whether a preliminary injunction should be granted in the lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and six additional organizations in March.
The coalition argues that both Trump and the Kennedy Center’s governing board do not possess the legal power to move forward with their construction proposal for the renowned arts facility without proper congressional authorization and required regulatory oversight.
“It is a city upon a hill. It should not — and by federal law cannot — be demolished or overhauled in secret or at lightning speed, and certainly not at the executive’s personal whim,” the plaintiffs told Cooper.
The court has permitted both the preservation organizations and the Trump administration to examine Matthew Floca, who serves as the Kennedy Center’s executive director under Trump’s appointment.
Trump’s renovation proposal for the center, which he has already renamed to incorporate his name and displayed on the structure, represents one component of the Republican president’s wider initiative to transform Washington’s historic monuments. His additional plans include constructing a 250-foot arch and developing a 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the demolished White House East Wing currently stands.
These other projects are similarly encountering legal opposition. A federal appeals court has permitted the Trump administration to proceed with the ballroom construction while the case remains under review.
Regarding the Kennedy Center litigation, the administration informed Cooper through court documents that the proposed construction would be confined to current buildings and property, noting that Congress essentially approved the project last year by allocating $256.7 million for renovations.
The challenging groups maintain that the funding was restricted to “necessary expenses for capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures.”
Trump declared last year that the Kennedy Center, established as a tribute to former Democratic President John F. Kennedy, was in “tremendous disrepair.”
