Kennedy Center Claims Tarps Are Necessary For ‘Ongoing Construction’—But Offers No Timeline For Removal

Aug 19, 2026 · 5 min read

Topline

The Kennedy Center told a federal court it has kept up a tarp in front of the venue’s facade for more than two months for “ongoing construction,” but it did not say how long it is expected to stay standing, prompting a rebuke from plaintiff Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who accused the center of a “childish refusal to accept this Court’s ruling” to remove President Donald Trump’s name.

A tarp still blocks much of the Kennedy Center's sign. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The Kennedy Center and Beatty filed a joint status report late Tuesday to comply with a court order, which asked the Kennedy Center to inform the court about its future plans for construction and operations, as well as the status of the tarp and scaffolding in front of the venue.

The Kennedy Center claimed the tarps are “necessary” for construction including “structural repairs to the overhead soffit,” which the center says will “enable further repairs to be made while minimizing delay, public disruption, and cost redundancies.”

The venue did not offer any timeline for removal of the tarps and said taking them down is “contingent upon the scope of any repairs required at present to the marble facade.”

Beatty said the Kennedy Center’s justification for keeping up the tarps makes “no sense” because the soffits are about 20 feet above the scaffolding, noting the tarp leaves “only the Center’s iconic name obscured,” a “strong indication” the tarps were solely placed there to “defy a return to the status quo.”

Beatty said the tarps defeat Congress’ order that the Kennedy Center serve as a memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, also requesting the court to order the venue to explain why it cannot remove the tarps within 30 days.

Beatty alleged the Kennedy Center offered a faux explanation for the tarps and said its “childish refusal to accept this Court’s ruling” should “end now.”

Kennedy Center Won’t Inscribe Trump’s Name Until At Least September

The Kennedy Center said in Tuesday’s filing it has committed to not effectuating a resolution it passed at its board meeting last week, which would add an inscription to the venue’s facade thanking Trump for restoring and renovating the center, until Sept. 8 at the earliest. Beatty, in her part of the joint status report, challenged the center’s decision to inscribe Trump’s name as a potential violation of the court’s earlier order to remove Trump branding from the venue. Beatty called the move to add Trump’s name a “breathtaking act of defiance,” saying the Kennedy Center has “no lawful basis to ignore this Court’s decision and impose Donald Trump’s name on a memorial dedicated by the Congress exclusively to a different President.” Beatty accused the Kennedy Center of attempting to memorialize Trump, which she says would violate the law that designates the venue as a memorial to Kennedy and designates naming abilities to Congress. Beatty also suggested inscribing Trump’s name could further damage the marble facade.

what to watch for

Beatty appears poised to challenge the Kennedy Center’s decision to inscribe Trump’s name in court. In the joint status report, she asked the court for “intervention” and urged it to schedule an emergency hearing, saying she “stands ready to brief the matter” on an “expedited basis.” The Kennedy Center suggested a range of dates in late August for a hearing on the matter, which Beatty urged the court to accept.

What Happened At The Kennedy Center’s Last Board Meeting?

Last week, the Kennedy Center’s board, filled with Trump allies, voted to add an inscription that reads, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” to the venue’s facade. Beatty, in a statement immediately after the meeting, called the decision a “transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed.” At that meeting, the center also voted to close for two years for renovations, keeping a smaller building open for limited programming and to function as a memorial to Kennedy. Trump has long pushed for the center to close for renovations, calling it “tired, broken, and dilapidated” in a February Truth Social post. Beatty also challenged the center’s decision to close in Tuesday’s status report, alleging the center failed to conduct a proper cost-benefit analysis of shutting down most programming. Beatty said Delta Consulting Group provided a cost-benefit analysis to the board in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, but alleged the “substance of the presentation deck is just two slides long.”

key background

The Kennedy Center has been locked in a legal battle to reinstate Trump’s name on the venue’s facade for months. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled in May the Kennedy Center must remove Trump’s name from its digital and physical branding, saying the board’s decision to add the name violated a law that designates the ability to name the venue to Congress. The ruling also temporarily blocked the Kennedy Center from closing, as Cooper said the decision to close was made based on a “one-sided presentation of information” without properly considering its “full range of its statutory obligations.” The Kennedy Center is fighting Cooper’s ruling in a federal appeals court.