WASHINGTON (February 5, 2026) – Earlier this week, President Trump announced that the Kennedy center will close on July 4 for two years. The closure will mark the beginning of renovations that will transform the center into a “new and spectacular Entertainment Complex” according to President Trump.
caught center executives, patrons, musicians, and even some members of the institution’s board of directors by surprise. The closing date, on July 4 as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary, is just five months away.
On the matter, Sara Bronin, the Freda H. Alverson Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School said, “President Trump’s surprise plans to shut down and rehabilitate the Kennedy Center threaten to significantly alter the historic building housing one of the country’s greatest cultural institutions. It’s routine for historic performing arts centers to undergo rehabilitations to address patron comfort, accessibility, energy efficiency, and building operation. But the President’s plans—including stripping the building down to the steel girders—go far beyond that.”
“Fortunately, Congress has established a review process under the National Historic Preservation Act that will require any rehabilitation plans to be vetted for their impacts on the historic building and other historic places nearby. If the administration fails to comply with this process, it will once again expose itself to legal action.”
Bronin was the Biden administration appointee to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which oversees the regulatory process under the National Historic Preservation Act called Section 106. To speak with Bronin to learn more, please contact Claire Sabin at claire [dot] sabin
gwu [dot] edu (claire[dot]sabin[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-