Kennedy Center demolition raised in Trump court filing

The Kennedy Center in Washington could eventually be demolished if courts block President Donald Trump's planned overhaul of the performing arts complex, the Justice Department argued Tuesday in a court filing.

The filing does not say the administration has a plan to demolish the center. It argues that without Trump's restoration and fundraising efforts, the building would deteriorate until it became unsafe and had to be taken down.

“Without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers wrote.

Mayers suggested the site could instead hold a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River. He acknowledged that such a replacement would “fail to adequately honor” slain president John F. Kennedy but said it would be cheaper to build and maintain.

The filing opposed efforts by Democrats to halt a two-year renovation and prevent Trump's name from being prominently added to the building. Justice Department lawyers said the administration had secured $258 million from Congress for restoration and attracted a new donor base.

Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board recently voted to add the words “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” beneath the institution's name and to rename the surrounding site the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.”

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, an ex officio board member, has challenged Trump's naming efforts, arguing that only Congress can name the institution established as a “living memorial” to Kennedy. A federal judge previously agreed that the board could not simply rename the center and ordered earlier Trump signage removed. The administration is appealing.

Kennedy Center officials had previously described the planned work as extensive electrical, stage and leak-prevention repairs that would not materially alter the exterior or reduce the building to its structural frame. A hearing on the proposed closure and the latest effort to recognize Trump on the building is scheduled for Thursday.