For weeks, the canvas covering the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center has baffled onlookers, sparking speculation about the Washington, DC gallery, following a court order to remove the president’s name. But recent court cases have raised a new mystery beyond the canvas.
Justice Department lawyers representing the Kennedy Center yesterday asked a federal appeals court to restore Donald Trump’s name to the foundation, saying that removing it jeopardizes “hundreds of millions” of dollars in gifts and pledges tied to the foundation, which has not been heard until this month, called the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation. Remember the last word.
The foundation’s bylaws (which DOJ attorneys first cited in a June 12 filing in the US District Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit) require that gifts be “returned, returned, or terminated” if the president’s name is removed from the building, its branding or other associated materials, the Kennedy Center wrote in a filing yesterday. Seeking an emergency stay to restore the president’s name to the building, the center said donors had pledged too much money because Trump’s name was attached to the institution.
The Kennedy Center was reporting fundraising of more than $100 million under Trump as recently as late last year. But public business records I reviewed this week show that the Trump Kennedy Center Foundation did not exist until the spring, raising questions about why money raised or pledged before that date would need to be returned or canceled.
On March 18, records (filed by the District’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection) show, the center changed the name of the nonprofit to the Kennedy Center Foundation, which former Kennedy Center officials had established as an independent 501(c)(3) in 2024, before Trump’s reelection. The records, however, do not include any details about the administration of the newly named foundation, and who is in charge remains unclear. Court records and files do not identify the donors whose gifts are allegedly at risk or specify how much money has been pledged or received through the foundation. The document formalizing the name change was signed by the center’s general counsel, Elliot Berke.
Alongside the foundation, there is now also the Trump Kennedy Center Fund. The center’s board voted on June 12 to recognize Trump’s contributions to the center through the fund, but how it interacts with the foundation is unclear, other than the fact that the fund appears to be a separate entity. When asked for comment today, the Kennedy Center referred me to a statement from June 13: “The Trump Kennedy Center Fund is intended to recognize President Donald J. Trump’s significant contributions and dedication to America’s greatest cultural center, while continuing our founding mission as before,” spokeswoman Roma Daravi said.
Unleashing the Kennedy Center’s legal effort to overturn a federal judge’s ruling—that the institution, as a Congressional-designated living memorial to Kennedy, cannot be renamed—has enough thorns in itself. But recent court filings add another layer of intrigue in introducing an unexpected new player as the basis for an emergency intervention from a federal appeals court while leaving fundamental questions unanswered.
In a open the difference in US District Court yesterday, responding to Representative Joyce Beatty’s claims that started a legal battle in December, the Kennedy Center gave some of its clearest evidence of the institution’s weakness since Trump’s takeover last year. Specifically, the Kennedy Center confirmed a Washington Post report that nearly half of the center’s tickets had not been sold by October, several months after Trump took office in February 2025. The Kennedy Center relies on a mix of revenue from ticket sales, donations, government funding and other sources.
In a to open on June 19, Beatty’s team requested information about the fund and the foundation, claiming that the center’s claims about a possible fall in fundraising could raise questions about its continuity. to follow while the decision removes Trump’s name.
The question of what will happen to the funds donated by the Kennedy Center is especially important right now as the complex faces an uncertain future. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper temporarily halted the Kennedy Center’s plan to close this summer for renovations, saying his board had not properly considered the importance of such a rapid closure. Next month, trustees will revisit the issue and vote on a way forward for the facility’s renovation plans, which could still include closing it permanently.
The station’s only remaining major orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, will be watching closely. The orchestra has not announced its next season because the station has been slow to sign up for other venues. A delay could depress next season’s registrations and threaten revenue. Two people with close knowledge of the NSO’s dealings, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, told me last week that there had been no movement in negotiations between the Kennedy Center and the orchestra for some time. One of the people said that the process has been managed by the Kennedy Center not to approve the orchestra’s budget, and with the controversy over whether the center will be closed next season. “That’s the hardest thing to figure out,” the person said—whether the orchestra will even need to find outdoor venues or whether it can use the center’s Concert Hall.
For the remaining workers at the facility, multiple lawsuits, layoffs, and labor disputes have left them in limbo. Staff told me they have received little information about the way forward other than an all-staff email sent last Thursday. “At this time, we are not making any immediate personnel changes related to the facility closings,” CEO Matt Floca wrote in an email.
He was coming more to court. In a presentation earlier this month, Floca told Cooper that the Kennedy Center intends to maintain a “model of performance” past July 5 (Trump’s original closing date) that would keep parts of the building open for educational and community programs, and long-term adjustments to programs and staff will be postponed until the board meets next month.
If there was a sign of how troubled the foundation’s operations have become amid the legal battle, it arrived in another all-staff email yesterday with a greeting that was either a simple oversight or an expression of greater confusion: “Good afternoon, Trump Kennedy Center Staff.” Soon, what the building is called may be the Kennedy Center’s biggest problem.
