Rep. Beatty loses after Kennedy Center votes to shut down for two years

U.S. Rep. Beatty, D-Ohio, lost her Kennedy Center-related battle against the Trump administration after the center’s board of directors voted on Monday to shut down operations for two years after July 4.

President Donald Trump said the center will be closed because it needs repairs, according to the Associated Press. The news source noted that the closure comes amid a series of resignations and cancellations following Trump’s renaming of the center by adding his last name.

“We’re going to ensure it remains the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world,” Trump said on Monday, right before the board meeting.

The news came after a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Trump administration to allow Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board who sued the administration over the Kennedy Center, to participate in the Monday meeting.

“It’s unlawful. There was no due process of going through anything with the United States Congress, which by law they must do,” Beatty said after the vote, Spectrum News 1 reported.

“If you’ve ever sat in a room with 40 people and there’s no roll call vote, and you simply say, ‘All those in favor say yes,’ in my opinion, it was weak, it was not an overwhelming yes—but it would be too hard in all honesty to discern if someone really opened their mouth or said something,” Beatty added, per the report.

In a March 15 press release, Beatty said that “there is no adequate basis to close the Kennedy Center, and that Donald Trump’s statements to the contrary are not founded,” citing several documents as her evidence. Even though the federal judge allowed her to be present at the meeting, Beatty was not allowed to participate in the final decision on Monday by voting.

During the Monday meeting, the board also voted to install Matt Floca as CEO and executive director, replacing Trump’s longtime friend Richard Grenell, according to the Associated Press.

Trump praised Grenell and wished Floca “good luck with everything,” the news source reported. Floca had been serving as vice president of operations for the center since January 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Matt Floca is an experienced facilities management professional with a construction management background and an appreciation for whole building design principles,” the center’s press release said.