A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The board of the Kennedy Center has voted to shut the arts complex down.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Shortly before that vote on Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the board cannot add President Trump's name to the exterior of the building or its grounds. And there are still a lot of questions about what happens next.
MARTÍNEZ: And joining us to help walk us through these questions is NPR culture correspondent Anastasia Tsioulcas. So walk us through the timeline of what happened yesterday.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: So federal judge Christopher Cooper's decision came down around noon, and then the board meeting started at 12:30 p.m. There was only one item on the agenda - to vote whether or not to close the center. The board says the center's in dire circumstances, both financially and structurally. The board meeting took place by Zoom, and a source with close knowledge of the meeting told me about it but asked not to be identified because this person had not been authorized to speak to the media.
This person said there was a very heated back-and-forth between President Trump, who is now chairman of the center, and Representative Joyce Beatty, the Democrat from Ohio, who is an ex officio member of the board. And Beatty sued Trump and the rest of the board. Trump and Beatty got into it and the board voted for the shutdown. Within a couple of hours of that vote, though, Trump had posted about the court ruling on his Truth Social platform and he vowed publicly not to go ahead with the renovation unless his name is on the building.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. So on that, I mean, how are we supposed to take that? What are you supposed to make of that?
TSIOULCAS: Well, it's hard to know how seriously to take Trump's statement, but immediately, Beatty's legal team filed that post with Judge Cooper. And as of late yesterday afternoon, Trump and the board had already filed an appeal.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So let's assume for the moment that the shutdown does indeed happen. Is that all planned out?
TSIOULCAS: At this point, there are honestly more questions unanswered than answered. We obtained the lengthy memo that the board received over the weekend prior to the vote. That only addressed structural matters at the center, not programming. For example, the board told Judge Cooper it intends to move two of the signature annual events - the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize - somewhere else. Where and how is unclear.
The board says it will continue to support the National Symphony Orchestra. How that's going to happen is unclear. For example, the orchestra has moved its upcoming concerts elsewhere. Where is it going to rehearse? Who will pay for it? That's unclear. And it's worth noting that none of the people on the board or in upper management at the Kennedy Center have that kind of programming experience.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. So there's still a lot that we don't know.
TSIOULCAS: For sure. Last winter when President Trump started talking publicly about this huge renovation he wanted to put on, I put together a long list of questions for the Kennedy Center officials. I've still received no answers. For example, will the public know what is being spent and on what? How transparent will the bidding process be? Are there any performing arts experts - people experienced in music, theater or dance - who will have any oversight or at least be consulted?
What happens to the archives of the Kennedy Center? What happens to the valuable artworks and historical artifacts housed there? Many of those were gifted to the United States by foreign nations. All of these things are things I will continue to seek answers on.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas. Thank you very much.
TSIOULCAS: Thanks so much for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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