In an emergency move on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointed leadership panel at the Kennedy Center voted to shut down the iconic performing arts venue.
This comes following a federal judge’s ruling blocking efforts to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building.
Trustees pushed for the sudden closure after declaring that the landmark has fallen into ‘dire’ financial ruin and physical decay.
To justify the immediate lockdown, leadership pointed to a terrifying partial ceiling collapse inside the main Grand Foyer earlier this month, arguing emergency structural work can no longer wait.
Trump was reportedly enraged, with sources telling CNN that he ‘screamed’ at Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who also sits on the panel, on a call before the vote.
Individuals on the call reportedly said the president blamed her for spearheading the downfall of the center after involving the courts.
Trump also jabbed the judge responsible for keeping his name off the building during the explosive call, sources revealed.
A draft resolution laying out a proposed two–year shutdown revealed that both the center’s top director and a structural consultant ‘consider the main building to be unsafe for continued occupancy, and anticipate further risk to the public and employees if the building is not immediately closed and renovations begun.’
