Documents obtained by The Washington Post show that leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, installed by President Donald Trump, warned that the center is facing “certain fiscal collapse” within weeks. They insisted that adding the president’s name to the building may be the only way to avoid bankruptcy.
The assessment appears in a 57-page packet sent to the board of trustees before a special meeting on Tuesday. Officials said the center could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts “within a matter of weeks.”
They argued that publicly recognizing Trump could secure his help in raising enough money to keep the institution afloat. Officials also recommended closing the main building immediately, warning that remaining open would endanger lives. If the board approves, the center could close as early as Tuesday.
Packet ties fundraising to public recognition and cites structural risks
The presentation makes clear that Trump’s support hinges on getting public credit for his involvement. The financial resolution says Trump has offered to “raise the necessary funds to keep the Center from bankruptcy” while the building undergoes a sweeping renovation.
It says Trump is unlikely to provide “fundamental oversight” of that project or lead a financial rescue without “appropriate recognition” of his role. Trustees are being asked to choose among 10 texts that could be placed on the building’s exterior beneath its name.
One option reads: “Renovation Restoration and Endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” The request comes less than a month after the board approved a similar plan to inscribe “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” on the facade.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that only Congress can rename the Kennedy Center and ordered Trump’s name removed. He is considering a legal challenge to the latter inscription proposal. Internal budgets and forecasts obtained by The Washington Post earlier this year showed ticket sales and fundraising plunging after the board added Trump’s name to the building in December.
By May, officials projected the center would collect about $124 million of the $220 million in revenue it had budgeted for the fiscal year, leaving a roughly $23 million deficit even after substantial spending cuts.
The center has faced scrutiny over its fundraising, such as when a lawsuit alleged it accepted a $2 million donation from a man accused of falsely claiming to be a CIA operative. A center spokesperson blamed the problems on financial mismanagement by previous leadership and said Trump’s name had attracted new donors.
Executive Director Matt Floca, installed by Trump in March, told trustees that a roughly four-by-five-foot section of ceiling plaster broke loose in the Grand Foyer during a severe storm Sept. 4 and fell about 60 feet, scattering debris near the Concert Hall entrance. No one was injured. Inspectors found at least seven other locations with visible water-related deterioration, according to the board packet.
Floca said in a two-page memo to trustees that engineers examining the outside of the building found widespread corrosion in structural components of the soffit panels that form the underside of an overhang wrapping around the center.
Of roughly half of the building’s 278 panels examined, 46 had severe structural corrosion and another 93 had mild-to-moderate corrosion, he said, adding that engineers projected that about one-third require immediate replacement. The report says 2,500-pound ceiling assemblies hang roughly 60 feet above public walkways.
A draft resolution says Floca and Delta Consulting Group, which has reviewed the center’s renovation plans, determined that the building is “unsafe for continued occupancy” and that delaying renovations would pose further danger to employees and the public.
Kennedy Center representatives declined to comment on the proposals but sent a previous statement from spokeswoman Roma Daravi: “Another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman, President Trump, has championed. Fortunately, no one was injured when the main hall’s ceiling collapsed.
This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there’s no justification for further delays in restoring America’s cultural center.”
Trump first proposed closing the Kennedy Center for two years in February, saying an empty building would allow crews to renovate it more quickly. His board approved the plan in March, but Cooper blocked the closure in May, finding that trustees had relied on insufficient information and had not adequately weighed the consequences. He allowed the board to reconsider after a more thorough review.
Trustees did so Aug. 13 and again approved a two-year shutdown as part of a roughly $250 million renovation. Tuesday’s resolution would go further by ordering the main building closed immediately.
Management says repairs cannot safely be performed around audiences and employees because structural work, electrical shutdowns, and construction would affect interconnected systems and public areas throughout the building. The Reach, the center’s newer expansion, would remain open, while performances and other programming would continue at other venues.
Published: Sep 14, 2026 02:00 pm