BS BULLETIN:
- President Trump blasted the federal judge overseeing the Kennedy Center battle as “highly conflicted” Sunday, days after a contentious emergency hearing over plans for the landmark.
- Trump called the Kennedy Center “old and decrepit” and said it desperately needs both a construction overhaul and a “public relations fix.”
- The administration has raised the stakes dramatically, warning in court that without major renovations the deteriorating building could eventually have to be demolished.
President Donald Trump has a $250 million plan to fix the Kennedy Center.
First, he has to get past a federal judge. And Trump clearly isn’t enjoying that part.
“The Kennedy Center is an old and decrepit building that is badly in need of a major construction and public relations fix before it can attain greatness and prestige, perhaps far greater than ever before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
Then he turned his attention to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. “It has been losing a fortune for many years, and will continue to do so if the highly conflicted judge on the case doesn’t allow us to do what has to be done!” Trump wrote.
Cooper, an Obama appointee, is overseeing the increasingly bitter legal battle over Trump’s plans for the performing arts center. Back in May, Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center’s board had overstepped its authority by adding Trump’s name to the building, finding that Congress named the memorial for President John F. Kennedy and only Congress can change it.
Trump’s allies have since come back with a different approach. The board voted Aug. 13 to put “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” beneath the Kennedy Center’s existing name. It also proposed calling the grounds “President Donald J. Trump Plaza.” At Thursday’s emergency hearing, Cooper questioned why the board was moving so quickly to put Trump’s name back on the facade after his previous ruling. No final ruling on the new proposal was issued at the hearing.
Meanwhile, the argument over Trump’s name has become tangled up with a much bigger question: What happens to the building itself? Justice Department lawyers have warned that the aging center requires roughly $250 million in renovations and could eventually deteriorate to the point where demolition becomes necessary if the work doesn’t proceed.
The government even floated what might replace it: a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac.
Trump’s relationship with Cooper was already combustible. After Cooper’s May ruling, Trump called him an “anti Trump Hater” and argued that Cooper was conflicted because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, had served as a counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration and because her law firm has represented figures Trump considers adversaries.
But Trump has not presented evidence that those connections have improperly influenced Cooper’s handling of the Kennedy Center case.
So the battle that started over whose name gets bolted onto the Kennedy Center now involves $250 million, a possible two-year shutdown, allegations of judicial conflicts and even the prospect of tearing the whole place down.
Washington does know how to renovate.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Mediaite — Donald Trump Takes a Shot At ‘Highly Conflicted’ Judge Deciding The ‘Decrepit’ Kennedy Center’s Fate
- Forbes — Trump Calls Kennedy Center ‘Decrepit’ — Says Judge Overseeing Renovation Case Is ‘Highly Conflicted’
- Associated Press — Judge Questions Why Kennedy Center Is Moving So Quickly to Return Trump’s Name to Building
- Reuters — Trump Administration Defends Kennedy Center Renaming Plan, Warns of Demolition Risk
- Washington Post — Judge Questions Renewed Push to Get Trump’s Name on Kennedy Center
