Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday as officials warn of impending ‘fiscal collapse’

The Kennedy Center board is set to vote Tuesday on whether to immediately close the institution’s main building for renovations , as a court battle over renewed attempts to add President Trump’s name to the facility persists.

Officials have warned that the performing arts center faces “certain fiscal collapse within weeks” if it is unable to publicly recognize Trump’s fundraising role, according to a copy of a draft resolution contained in court filings.

“The Board understand that without such appropriate recognition it is unlikely that President Trump will provide the fundamental oversight of the renovation of the main building and lead the fiscal rescue of the Center,” the resolution states.

The document describes the Kennedy Center as on the brink of bankruptcy, weeks away from being unable to meet payroll or routine maintenance contracts. A second draft resolution asserts the main building is “unsafe for continued occupancy,” citing a recent water leak that caused the grand foyer ceiling to partially collapse.

The resolutions also position Trump’s fundraising skills as the lone hope to keep the institution afloat, with one presenting 10 options for how the president’s name could be etched onto the building.

“The Board seeks to provide multiple options so that President Trump can be legally and appropriately recognized and acknowledged on the façade of the Kennedy Center so that he agrees to carry the burden of managing the renovation and provides the Center with a much required financial rescue,” the resolution continues.

The plans were first reported by The Washington Post, which earlier cited confidential documents showing that ticket sales and fundraising have plummeted since the board decided to inscribe Trump’s name in December.

The board of trustees, handpicked and installed by the president, is expected to vote on the two resolutions Tuesday afternoon. A request for comment was not immediately returned.

That meeting will come just hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper holds a scheduling conference in an ongoing lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio board member who has led the legal challenge over the Kennedy Center changes.

“Pay up or the Kennedy Center closes, & the price is Trump’s name on the building,” Norm Eisen, one of the lawyers representing Beatty, wrote Monday on social platform X. “That’s from the board’s meeting materials, one day before they vote on it.”

“An outrageous act of hostage taking,” he added.

Cooper blocked the Kennedy Center from moving forward with a prolonged closure for renovations in late May but allowed “necessary maintenance and repair work” to continue.

He also ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the building’s facade , concluding the board’s initial decision was unlawful because only Congress had the authority to change the name.

The lettering was removed in June, but the board voted on a resolution in August that would readd his name to the facility in the form of two inscriptions.

Cooper peppered Justice Department lawyers during a hearing last month about why the board was in a rush. The Kennedy Center has agreed to hold off until at least Oct. 8, while also claiming the building may be demolished if the roughly $257 million renovation project is not allowed to move forward.

“The Kennedy Center is in terrible trouble,” DOJ lawyers wrote in previous court filings. “The crisis is so acute that, without the Trump Administration, its people, and President Trump, the Center cannot survive, either structurally or financially.”