Jonathan Edwards

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center doesn’t have to answer questions about Trump’s role, DOJ assertsThe ongoing court battle has prompted an unusual debate about whether executive privilege can extend outside of the president's official responsibilities.

Can Trump claim executive privilege over conversations he has as Kennedy Center chairman rather than president? DOJ lawyers are trying to shield comms re: the center's operations from scrutiny in court. One legal expert: "This doesn't even meet the laugh test" www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/1...

washingtonpost.com‘I am the code’: Trump clashed with ballroom architect over safety issuesJames McCrery II resigned in October after warning that the president was insisting on designs that violated fire and safety codes.

EXCLUSIVE: The architect who initially designed Trump’s White House ballroom repeatedly warned the president that his plans lacked adequate emergency exits and fire-containment measures. Trump brushed off the concerns: “I am the code.” www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

washingtonpost.comFresh layoffs begin at Kennedy Center as closure continuesThe cuts come as the center’s main building remains closed amid a legal battle over President Donald Trump’s transformation of the national cultural institution.

18 Sept

NEW: The Kennedy Center laid off about a dozen employees Friday, the latest cuts to an already diminished workforce as its main building remains closed amid a legal battle over President Trump’s transformation of the institution. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comPhoto of Trump shows printout that seems to refer to Kennedy Center demolitionThe image surfaced hours after the president warned that the performing arts venue could eventually be “ripped down” without his administration’s intervention. Lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), ...

17 Sept

NEW: A photo of President Trump reviewing a printout apparently related to the Kennedy Center’s potential demolition has entered the legal fight over the institution’s future. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comLawmaker requests emergency hearing as Kennedy Center remains closedRep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a Kennedy Center trustee, filed a motion requesting an emergency hearing so center officials can explain the closure despite a federal judge’s instructions hours earlier th...

17 Sept

NEW: President Trump says the Kennedy Center will have to close and ultimately be “ripped down” without his intervention, arguing that his administration deserves recognition for taking on its renovation and long-term financial support. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Jonathan Edwards@jonathanreports.bsky.social

The Kennedy Center closed its doors yesterday. Now Rep. Joyce Beatty is challenging the closure in court. Her emergency motion opens a new front in the legal fight over President Trump’s transformation of the national cultural institution. Full story: www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

17 Sept

Here's video of Trump's remarks: x.com/Acyn/status/...

x.comx.com

Breaking: Rep. Joyce Beatty has filed emergency motion challenging Kennedy Center's abrupt closure to public for two years of renovations. "It seems Defendants may be violating the “clear and unambiguous order of the Court,” her lawyers wrote.

washingtonpost.comTrump administration moving ahead with signs outside Smithsonian museumInterior Secretary Doug Burgum said about a dozen signs would be installed outside the National Museum of American History warning of curators’ “personal viewpoints.”

The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans for signs outside the Smithsonian’s American History Museum warning visitors about what the White House calls ideological bias. Interior Dept. Sec. Doug Burgum expects about 12 signs at roughly $7,000 each. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

To support the accusation, Burgum cited a 2000 Bunch essay in which he described "the museum profession as 'awash in whiteness'; wrote that 'the real issue is not money but the monochromatic nature of our institutions'...

...and stated, 'until we change the tint and tone of our workforce, we are just dancing around the edges of our greatest failure.'"

Burgum wrote in a Sept. 3 letter that the signs, which he described as temporary, will "provide visitors with important context about the exhibits they are about to encounter and the personal viewpoints that the curators of the exhibits are seeking to advance."

In the letter, Burgum mostly retreads the arguments the administration has already made. One exception: his assertion "that visitors should be aware of Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch’s history of invidious discrimination and anti-white animus."

BREAKING: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts just closed its doors, hours after its board of trustees, led by President Donald Trump, voted to immediately shut down for two years of renovations. From reporter Grey Battle who's on the ground.

washingtonpost.comJudge bars Kennedy Center from adding Trump’s name to building againThe center’s Board of Trustees is also set to consider a proposal to shut down the building for renovations.

Leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Tuesday to close the venue after administrators warned that an immediate closure was necessary to avoid endangering people’s lives. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comJudge bars Kennedy Center from adding Trump’s name to buildingThe center’s Board of Trustees is also set to consider a proposal to shut down the building for renovations.

NEW (full article): A federal judge has blocked the Kennedy Center from putting Trump’s name back on its exterior. The ruling comes as trustees confront another extraordinary decision today: whether to immediately close the main building. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Breaking: Federal judge bars Kennedy Center from once again adding President Donald Trump's name to the the performing arts venue.

npr.orgKennedy Center board says venue could close soon due to financial woesNPR's A Martinez speaks with Washington Post arts and government reporter Jonathan Edwards about internal documents showing the Kennedy Center could close as soon as Tuesday.

14 Sept

I was on @npr.org w @amartinezla.bsky.social discussing our latest Kennedy Center reporting: an institution that says its running out of money, a building management says is unsafe to occupy and a new push to put President Trump’s name on its facade Listen here: www.npr.org/2026/09/14/n...

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy, documents showOfficials said the center is facing “certain fiscal collapse” within weeks, insist that adding President Donald Trump’s name may be the only way to avoid bankruptcy.

13 Sept

Exclusive: Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday as officials warn that bankruptcy is imminent. w @travismandrews.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comFacing historic White House pressure, Smithsonian tells the history of 9/11Twenty-five years after the attacks, the Smithsonian is preserving the objects and memories of Sept. 11, 2001 for generations who weren’t there — as the White House challenges how it tells American hi...

11 Sept

The Smithsonian was charged by Congress with preserving the history of 9/11. Twenty five years later, it is carrying out that mission as the Trump administration challenges the institution’s authority to tell American history. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

washingtonpost.comSmithsonian leadership changes give Trump an opening for controlSecretary Lonnie G. Bunch III is retiring as more than a third of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents is set to become vacant.

10 Sept

The Smithsonian is entering a remarkable transition: Secretary Lonnie Bunch is retiring, and more than a third of the seats on the Board of Regents will soon be vacant. The changes create a new opening for President Trump to influence the institution. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comSmithsonian chief to retire as Trump fights to reshape the institutionLonnie G. Bunch III, the Smithsonian’s first Black secretary, said President Donald Trump’s pressure played no role in his decision and vowed to defend the institution’s independence until he leaves.

8 Sept

BREAKING: Smithsonian chief Lonnie Bunch is retiring at a pivotal moment for the institution. He says Trump’s pressure did not drive his decision — and vowed to keep defending the Smithsonian’s independence until he leaves. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center’s dismantled ‘Blue’ sculpture purchased by David RubensteinThe Kennedy Center’s former chairman, who was ousted by President Donald Trump in 2025, acquired the artwork for more than $2 million. It will eventually be displayed in the Sculpture Garden of the Na...

8 Sept

David Rubenstein, the former Kennedy Center chairman ousted by President Trump in 2025, bought the sculpture “Blue” for more than $2 million with plans to eventually display it in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. From Roxanne Roberts www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center removing landmark ‘Blue’ sculpture from campusWork began Wednesday morning to remove Joel Shapiro's towering stick-figure-like sculpture, which was installed in 2019.

2 Sept

Crews have started removing the "Blue" sculpture from the Kennedy Center grounds www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comSmithsonian switches building plan for Latino museum amid site debateRegents voted to put the museum in an existing 145-year-old building instead of constructing a new one, which would require congressional approval.

31 Aug

NEW: A major change of course for the National Museum of the American Latino: Instead of constructing a new building on the National Mall, the Smithsonian will put the museum in the 145-year-old Arts and Industries Building. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comDOJ says Kennedy Center could be demolished if Trump’s plans are blockedThe filing marks the first time President Donald Trump’s allies have explicitly raised the prospect that the Kennedy Center itself could be demolished.

The Kennedy Center will eventually have to be demolished unless President Donald Trump is allowed to save it, Justice Department lawyers representing the center argued in a court filing posted late Monday. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

The vibe is very "I alone can fix it."

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center finances deteriorated sharply after Trump name changeBudget and meeting documents obtained by The Post show ticket revenue and fundraising plummeted even as leaders publicly touted a financial turnaround.

Our exclusive reporting on internal financial documents undercut that narrative. Those docs show that ticket sales and fundraising collapsed after Trump’s name was added to the building, even as the center’s leaders publicly touted a financial turnaround. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

There's a lot of breathless praise for Trump. The center's board of trustees, which Trump leads and stacked with allies, recognizes that his "efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center’s financial survival, and structural renewal," the lawyers said.

"The Board also underscores, and the undisputed evidence demonstrates, that without the prominent recognition of The Trump Administration and President Trump’s efforts, the donors will not contribute, and the Center will continue to be in a financial and structural death spiral"

The center, which the lawyers described as “structurally unsound, fundamentally unsafe, and embarrassing to the Nation’s Capital,” faces “terminal decline” without Trump’s experience as a real estate developer and fundraising prowess, the lawyers said in the filing.

Exclusive: Confidential Kennedy Center records show ticket sales and fundraising plunged after the board renamed the center for President Trump, even as its leaders publicly touted a financial turnaround. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comNational Symphony Orchestra announces season outside the Kennedy CenterThe centerpiece orchestra announced its season months later than usual, at venues away from its longtime home.

18 Aug

The National Symphony Orchestra announces its season outside the Kennedy Center, its home for more than a half-century. The center's marquee ensemble is unveiling its season months late as it faces severe financial turmoil. w @philipkennicott.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comTrump wants to put golden seals on White House ballroomThe planned adornments, which were included in renderings submitted to the Supreme Court, break with tradition and the original vision for the White House grounds.

14 Aug

New renderings shared by the Trump admin Friday show gold-colored presidential seals on the exterior of the planned White House ballroom — gilding that wasn't in the design federal commissions approved earlier this year. Good spot by @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

washingtonpost.comTrump officials ask Supreme Court to let ballroom construction continueThe appeal escalates the legal fight over the controversial project to the nation’s highest court.

14 Aug

The Trump admin just asked the Supreme Court to let it finish the White House ballroom, appealing a judge's order to stop and escalating a months-long legal fight. Solicitor General says stop-work order threatens national security and ballroom is 65% done www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

14 Aug

w @jjouvenal.bsky.social and @ddiamond.bsky.social

washingtonpost.comSymphony suffers severe financial hit under Trump’s Kennedy Center, records showIndividual donors and audience members have walked away from the National Symphony Orchestra, documents show, costing the Kennedy Center millions in additional losses.

12 Aug

Exclusive: Confidential documents reveal the National Symphony Orchestra's finances in free fall since Trump took over the Kennedy Center — pushing the nation's orchestra into its deepest crisis in years. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comKennedy Center board lacks materials needed for closure vote, senator saysThe trustees are set to vote next week on a two-year closure, but some say they've received no new assessments of the potential effects on the performing arts center.

5 Aug

Scoop: A federal judge halted plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years. Now the board is set to vote again next week — and trustee Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says leaders still haven't given trustees any analysis of what a shutdown would do to the venue. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comColumn | I’ve visited the Smithsonian hundreds of times. Warnings aren’t needed.An executive order from President Donald Trump may be laughable, but it shouldn’t be laughed off.

New column from @philipkennicott.bsky.social: the Trump administration's warning signs outside the Smithsonian's American history museum may be laughable — but they shouldn't be laughed off. They're "the markers of authoritarianism, the signs of a culture war" www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

"I’ve heard expressions of awe, and sometimes shock, and a lot of quiet murmuring," Kennicott writes. "For a museum that is so relentlessly negative in Trump’s eyes, I’ve witnessed a surprising amount of joy among the crowds who flock there."

The saddest part of Trump's Smithsonian order, Kennicott argues: It drafts the National Park Service to attack another institution Americans love and trust. A drama of division, with two beloved establishments as unwilling actors.

Kennicott writes that he's visited the Smithsonian hundreds visited hundreds of times over the past 25 years and never once seen visitors react the way the White House claims they do.

washingtonpost.comTrump orders warning signs near Smithsonian, escalating fight over historyThe president’s executive order calls for signage near the National Museum of American History cautioning visitors about “inaccurate information.”

25 July

Historians say there’s no precedent for it: Trump ordering signs installed outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History warning of “inaccurate” information while offering a competing government narrative of American history. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

washingtonpost.comTrump orders warning signs near Smithsonian, escalating fight over historyPresident Trump issued an executive order Friday to install signage and exhibits near the National Museum of American History, warning visitors of "inaccurate information."

24 July

Trump on Friday ordered signs be installed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History that warn of "inaccurate" exhibits + point to "accurate information regarding America's history," a dramatic escalation in his fight w the Smithsonian www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...