US Commerce Secretary on Thursday (local time) said the Kennedy Center’s demolition will be an “eventuality” if Donald Trump isn’t able to renovate the cultural center. However, he dismissed the idea that such a move is likely to happen soon.
Addressing reporters outside the court, the Commerce Secretary said, “Bad things happen, but they’re not going to happen on Thursday,” and added, “No one’s saying it’s happening on Thursday. It’s just an eventuality, but that’s not going to happen,” CNN reported.
He further said, “I mean, this is the board classically capturing the greatest fundraiser and greatest builder ever by putting his name on it and saying, “OK, OK, you wanted your name. Here it is. Now go do it,’” Lutnick added. “And that’s the board’s decision.”
Lutnick made these remarks before federal Judge Christopher Cooper questioned the cultural center’s plans to add Trump’s name back to the building in the coming weeks, expressing frustration over the fact that it could happen before he decides whether it is legal.
Federal judge questions Trump’s name addition move
On Thursday, Cooper, who had been hearing a lawsuit filed by Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, questioned the board’s decision to add the US President’s name. During a roughly two-hour hearing, Cooper questioned the Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney and posed questions as he defended the Kennedy Center board’s decision to add Trump’s name alongside that of the 35th US President on the building’s facade and other areas of the site on which the building sits.
Cooper, an appointee of former President , did not immediately rule. He questioned the DOJ attorney and sought an explanation as to why the center was planning to move ahead with its plans to add Trump’s name to the building as soon as 8 September.
He described the date as arbitrary, adding that if the cultural center did not change course on its timeline, he may have to issue a temporary order to restrict the institution from moving ahead with adding ‘s name while the legal battle continues.
The hearing came shortly after Lutnick said that the center’s physical future will be in doubt if Trump’s name isn’t attached.
DOJ backs Trump’s name addition
The hearing on Thursday came two days after Brantley Mayers, a top official in the DOJ’s Civil Division, argued in a court filing that the Kennedy Center could face demolition if Trump’s name isn’t added to it. The Justice Department described the center as “decrepit” and “dilapidated,” claiming donor funding for renovations would collapse without Trump’s name on the building.
The court filing read, “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,” and added, “Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain.”
Mayers also warned that blocking Trump’s name and the proposed renovations could hinder its finances. He said, “An order blocking the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee, financial contributions to dry up, and structural rehabilitation to stop. There will simply not be the expertise or funding necessary to rebuild and renovate this decimated structure.”
The development comes nearly two weeks after the Trump-aligned Kennedy Center board voted once again to add the US President’s name, despite Cooper halting the initial attempt in May to place “Donald J. Trump” on the building’s facade after Beatty filed a lawsuit challenging the move. She argued that the board had acted unlawfully because renaming the cultural center requires an act of Congress.
