House Democrat on Kennedy Center renovation: Trump 'acted with a total disregard for Congress'

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) on Sunday condemned the Trump administration’s decision to close the Kennedy Center for renovation this summer, citing concern for employees and contracted artists. “Once again, Donald Trump has acted with total disregard for Congress. The Kennedy Center is congressionally funded, and Congress should have been consulted on any decision to shut down its operations or undertake major renovations, especially for a two-year period,” Beatty, an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member, wrote in a statement. “Countless employees, artists, and others have existing contracts and agreements with the Center. What happens to them? Has Trump or his handpicked Board given any consideration to their livelihoods or futures? This is precisely why congressional oversight is essential,” she added. The Ohio Democrat previously has raised alarm over the president’s overhaul at the performing arts venue, criticizing his decision to add his name to the building and ousting sitting board members at the start of his second administration. Her Sunday comments follow a post from Kennedy Center interim president Richard Grenell, who lauded the decision to close the doors for two years of renovations, stating it “just makes sense.” “I am grateful for President Trump’s visionary leadership. I am also grateful to Congress for appropriating an historic $257M to finally address decades of deferred maintenance and repairs at the Trump Kennedy Center,” Grenell wrote in his post on X. “Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Center, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world. It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense – it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster,” he added. Still, Beatty said architectural fixes will not resolve cultural changes that have caused ticket sales to plummet. In her Sunday statement, Beatty said, “let’s be clear: remodeling the premises will not restore the Kennedy Center to what it was. A return to artistic independence will. America’s artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the administration knows it. That is why they are now scrambling for cover.”