WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (DC Times Online) — The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted Aug. 13 to add a tribute to President Donald J. Trump beneath the center’s existing facade sign and to name its grounds or an outdoor area “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” according to people briefed on the board’s closed meeting and statements from Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio trustee.
The board also voted to move ahead with a two-year partial closure of the main Kennedy Center building for renovations. The separate REACH wing is expected to remain open, according to people familiar with the decision.
The reported changes affect one of Washington’s most prominent performing-arts venues. They also have a legal dimension: A federal judge previously ruled that the board could not change the Kennedy Center’s formal name without Congress.
What names did the board approve?
The reported inscription beneath the existing building sign is: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
The board also voted to call the grounds or an outdoor space “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” Beatty said. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was reported to have proposed the plaza name.
The Kennedy Center’s formal name remains the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Congress established that name, and reports have described the new language as an inscription or site designation rather than a formal change to the center’s legal name.
It is not clear from the available information whether the plaza name would be used on signs, maps, programs or other materials, or what approvals would be needed to put it into effect.
What is the proposed endowment inscription?
The board also wants the words “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” placed on the building if the fund reaches a $100 million endowment, according to information obtained by Fox News.
An endowment is a pool of money invested to provide long-term financial support. The available reports do not identify how much money the fund has raised, who would provide the money or whether the fund has formally been created.
Why is the decision tied to a court case?
The board’s action follows a dispute over the center’s name and Trump’s role in its management. Reports say the board voted in December 2025 to call the facility the “Trump Kennedy Center.”
In May 2026, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the board did not have authority to rename the center and ordered Trump’s name removed, according to accounts of the ruling. Reports said the name was removed in June.
The latest votes appear to put Trump’s name on the building through an inscription and seek to attach it to part of the grounds, rather than formally changing the institution’s congressional name. Beatty characterized the move as an attempt to get around the court’s decision. Her lawyer, Norm Eisen, also criticized the action.
The available material does not include the judge’s full order, the board’s resolutions or an official vote record. The Kennedy Center had not publicly confirmed the plaza vote in one account, and no official statement from the center, Trump or the White House was included in the available reports.
What will happen to the building?
The board voted to proceed with a two-year partial closure of the main building for renovations, according to people briefed on the meeting. The REACH, a separate space on the Kennedy Center campus, is expected to stay open.
The available information does not provide a start date, detailed construction schedule, full cost breakdown or list of affected performances. The center is expected to provide renovation and closure information to the federal judge by Aug. 18, according to CNN.
That process could determine how the renovation plan fits with the pending legal dispute. The court’s ruling addressed the center’s formal name, while the board’s new actions concern an inscription, a proposed plaza designation and a fundraising condition.
How did the board vote?
Fox News reported that the resolution recognizing Trump’s contributions passed 20-3 and that the partial-closure resolution passed 23-3. The report identified Beatty, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Rick Larsen as voting against both measures, citing a source familiar with the meeting.
Because the official minutes or certified vote record were not provided, those vote totals could not be independently confirmed from the available documents.
The legal dispute and the planned closure now place the Kennedy Center’s building, public access and identity at the center of a broader fight over who controls the national arts institution and how its name and spaces may be used.
