The US Department of Justice announced on 25/8 that without President Donald Trump's renovation efforts and fundraising, the Kennedy Center in Washington would become increasingly dangerous for visitors.

"The center will continue to deteriorate, becoming a dilapidated, unsafe structure, and will ultimately be forced to be demolished," said Brantley Mayers, a lawyer for the Department of Justice.

According to Mayers, the land could then be used to build a large outdoor theater overlooking the Potomac River. He acknowledged this option "would not adequately honor" the late President John F. Kennedy, but would be cheaper in both construction and maintenance costs.

Outside the Kennedy Center in Washington, US on 25/8. Photo: AFP

This warning was issued to counter efforts by Democratic lawmakers to suspend the two-year renovation plan and prevent Trump from affixing his name to the structure. This marks an escalation in the fierce confrontation surrounding one of America's most famous cultural symbols.

In its statement, the Department of Justice described the venue as "structurally unsafe and an embarrassment to the nation's capital."

Department of Justice lawyers stated the Trump administration had been granted 258 million USD by Congress to renovate the center and attract a new group of donors. They argued that placing the President's name on the building is an essential factor in maintaining donor support.

The Trump-selected Kennedy Center Board of Trustees recently voted to place the inscription "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" below the building's name, and renamed the surrounding area "President Donald J. Trump Plaza."

Representative Joyce Beatty, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, objected to efforts to put Trump's name on the center. She argued that only Congress has the authority to name the structure, which was established as a "living memorial" to Kennedy.

The performing arts venue, initially named the National Cultural Center, was initiated in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and raised sufficient funds under Kennedy. Two months after Kennedy's assassination in 11/1963, President Lyndon Johnson renamed the structure the John F. Kennedy Center.

Workers erecting scaffolding to remove Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center in june. Photo: AFP

In 12/2025, the White House announced that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees had voted unanimously to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, in recognition of the "extraordinary efforts" President Trump had made to "save the building not only in terms of design, but also financially and reputationally." Trump's name was subsequently placed on the building's facade, above the name Kennedy.

However, in may, federal appeals judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Board of Trustees had exceeded its statutory authority by unilaterally renaming the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center. In june, the federal appeals court rejected a last-minute effort by the Board of Trustees, ordering the center to complete the removal of Trump's name from the building.

The Trump administration continues to appeal this ruling. A hearing on the proposal to close the center and the latest effort to inscribe Trump's name on the building is scheduled for 27/8.

Huyen Le (According to AFP)