Lawmakers are decrying the Trump administration’s threat to demolish the Kennedy Center if a federal judge doesn’t rule in favor of adding the president’s name and closing the building for two years for major renovations.
It sets the stage for a high-stakes court hearing on Thursday as President Donald Trump continues his efforts to reshape the nation’s cultural and historical institutions.
“No one is going to be allowed to demolish the Kennedy Center,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in a statement. “We should leave the Kennedy Center theatrics to the performers.”
On Monday, the Department of Justice warned in a legal filing that the 55-year-old building may be demolished if the administration isn’t able “to rebuild and renovate.”
“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years,” DOJ attorney Brantley Mayers wrote.
