Internal email points to Kennedy Center’s continued closure
Lettering and construction tarps on the exterior of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on September 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — An email sent to Kennedy Center staff earlier this week by the center’s executive director says the building will “remain temporarily closed” pending an ongoing safety assessment.
In the email, sent on Wednesday and obtained by ABC News, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, Matt Floca, gave no indication that the building will be reopening anytime soon after the President Donald Trump-aligned Kennedy Center board voted last month to close it for renovations after a federal judge’s ruling blocked Trump’s name from appearing on the outside of the building.
Floca said no one can access the building’s grand hallways without permission and a hard hat, pointing to an ongoing “emergency egress assessment” of the building’s overhanging soffits — the underside of the building’s distinctive overhanging roof.
Floca said that the ongoing assessment will “determine whether, and under what conditions, the building can safely support occupants and be evacuated,” given that certain exits would be blocked during soffit repairs.
“We currently expect the assessment to be completed within the next one to two weeks and will share an update when it is complete, or sooner if the expected timing changes,” Floca wrote in the email. “This is an assessment timeline, not a reopening date. The immediate safety determination is separate from the scope and schedule of the broader renovation program.”
Floca said the main corridors of the building — the Hall of States, Hall of Nations and Grand Foyer — remain off limits, and that entry “requires express authorization and compliance with all prescribed safety controls, including hard hats and any other required personal protective equipment.”
Wearing such safety equipment “does not, by itself, authorize entry,” Floca noted.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered an update on the center’s closure by Friday, and Floca is expected to provide the judge with the same information he put in his Wednesday email, which was first reported by NBC News.
Floca, in a court filing last week, cited several “documented hazards” within the building as well as corrosion on the soffits around it.
In May, Cooper issued an order blocking the planned two-year closure of the center for renovations, saying the board had not properly weighed the impact of the closure on the center’s finances and programming when it voted on the plan in March.
The Justice Department has since asked the judge to dissolve that order so planned renovations can proceed. However, Cooper has yet to rule on that motion.
Trump has appealed the judge’s order that the board cannot re-add Trump’s name to the building.
In a TIME magazine interview out Thursday, Trump said he would be willing to save the Kennedy Center, but that it’s in “terrible, terrible shape,” adding that his administration should be recognized for stepping in to renovate.
He also refused to commit to not demolishing the performing arts center without the consent of Congress.
“I’m not committing to anything,” Trump told TIME. “We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”
Workers walk past newly installed fencing outside the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington, DC. The new fencing composed of “bike rack” and barricade material was installed a day after the Kennedy Center Board voted to close the venue for repairs. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Several hundred activists are expected to gather at the Kennedy Center on Friday in opposition to President Donald Trump’s attempted takeover of the presidential memorial and threats that he will close and demolish it.
Activists are expected to gather Friday evening to link hands and form a human chain outside the Washington venue, demanding Trump be removed as its chairman for failing to protect and manage it. Trump installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center last year after removing its previous leadership and replacing board members with his own appointees.
“The demonstration opposes the recent sudden closure of the facility, the installation of security fencing, and political efforts to alter or demolish portions of the presidential memorial,” the group said on its website.
The Hands Off the Arts organization behind the rally and protest said they expect hundreds of people to gather on the center’s steps for musical performances, testimonials and speeches before forming a human chain around the building. The group has held various protests outside the performing arts venue this year.
Earlier this week, Trump said the Kennedy Center could be “ripped down” if his administration doesn’t receive recognition on the performing arts center as tensions over his name being removed from the venue mount.
“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down,” the president told reporters.
The activist coalition said its goal is to reclaim the Kennedy Center from “authoritarian overreach and protect other arts and cultural institutions from similar fates,” according to the group’s website.
“This is not the Kennedy Center you know and love. It’s not the Kennedy Center you deserve,” the group said on its website. “We know what the Kennedy Center is meant to be, and can be again — the nation’s cultural center, active with life, joy, and incredible art.”
The group says it formed after leadership changes at the Kennedy Center in recent months.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as Trump has threatened.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued the order after lawyers for Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member of the board, cited Trump’s warning that the center could be “ripped down” and submitted photographs appearing to show the Trump examining a placard labeled “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” on Wednesday night. The photos were taken Wednesday night through a cabin window on Air Force One.
The venue “cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Cooper ruled.
The judge earlier this week ruled that Trump’s name could not be added to the center’s exterior without congressional approval. The board previously placed his name on the facade, and removed it in June after an earlier ruling.
Trump has argued that the center is in poor condition and requires substantial government support to remain open.
“It’s in very, very bad shape, very dangerous shape,” Trump said Wednesday. “You see steel falling down. You see plaster falling off ceilings. You see a lot of dangers.”
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a ‘Rose Garden Club’ dinner for National Police Week in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republicans are punting on plans to advance a $70 billion immigration bill, retreating after meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to address concerns about the administration’s anti-weaponization fund.
The move pushes the process until at least after their weeklong Memorial Day recess after the House and Senate were sent home Thursday afternoon.
Earlier, Senate Republicans were poised to try to rein in two of President Donald Trump’s controversial spending wishes: $1 billion for the East Wing expansion and nearly $1.8 billion for an “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” two people familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
Blanche canceled pre-scheduled travel to go up to Capitol Hill to attempt to quell the growing Republican outrage over the “anti-weaponization fund,” which would be used to compensate allies who say they have suffered injustices at the hand of the Biden administration. But Blanche’s meeting seems to have completely backfired.
There was yelling in the room, multiple sources told ABC News, with some senators — even some vocal Trump supporters — telling Blanche they believed they’d lose the Senate majority over the fund.
Blanche even tried to placate Republican senators by releasing a fact sheet earlier Thursday that stated they themselves can apply to receive money from the fund.
Republicans are looking at ways to use the bill to impose guardrails on Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund.
On Wednesday afternoon, some Republicans told reporters that the $1 billion for White House security — including funding for the ballroom — would likely be removed from the bill because there was a lack of GOP support.
Because the text of the new bill hasn’t been made public, it’s not yet clear exactly what restrictions Republicans may try to impose on the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” the core of the settlement between the Department of Justice and Trump to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
The taxpayer-funded pool of money will be administered by a five-person commission appointed by the acting attorney general with little oversight aside from the president, who could remove members.
Senators were working on potential provisions to address their concerns on the fund, but by Thursday afternoon, those discussions still appeared to be very far apart.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins said “no,” Blanche did not change her mind about the weaponization fund.
Republican Sen. John Hoeven said the “consensus building process” on the matter is “going to require more work.”
“We just don’t have the right configuration where we know we have 50 votes,” he said.
Republicans could try to embed guardrails for the fund in the actual bill, or they could instead try to offer an amendment addressing the fund once the bill is on the Senate floor.
However, if Republicans don’t do something, it is widely expected that Democrats will certainly try to.
Senate Republicans are aiming to muscle the $70 billion immigration enforcement package through using a budget tool called reconciliation, which will allow them to pass the bill with a simple majority of votes in the Senate instead of the usual 60 votes that it takes to approve most legislative matters.
But before the bill can pass, there will be a voting marathon known as a vote-a-rama, during which lawmakers are able to offer unlimited amendments to the bill.
Democrats are powerless to block this package from passing if Republicans stick together, but Democrats could put forward a number of amendments that force Republicans to take politically tricky votes.
If Republicans do not come up with a clear way to address the “anti-weaponization” fund in their underlying bill or in an amendment that is popular with Republicans who oppose the fund, Democratic-led amendments that look to restrict the fund could very well get the necessary GOP support to pass on the Senate floor.
Some Senate Republicans who Trump has publicly scorned in recent weeks have become the fund’s most outspoken critics, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost his primary race in Louisiana after Trump endorsed his opponent.
Cassidy spoke out on Wednesday night, bashing the fund.
“People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the President and his allies to pay whomever they wish with no legal precedent or accountability. This is adding to our national debt. If there needs to be a settlement, the administration should bring it to Congress to decide,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X.
Regardless of what Republicans do, Democrats are expected to use the vote-a-rama to force a number of votes that they hope will pin down Republicans on the fund.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told ABC News on Wednesday that he intends to force votes on amendments to “stop this illegal abhorrent slush fund” during the vote-a-rama.
With enough GOP support, Democrats could have a real chance of putting restraints on — or even eliminating — this fund as part of the massive package. Depending on how Democrats craft their amendments surrounding the IRS fund, it could take as few as four Republican supporters to pass some of them.
What happened to the ballroom funding?
The $1 billion that was intended for White House security, including the security aspects of Trump’s ballroom, is being scrapped by Republicans, according to some GOP lawmakers. The Republican lawmakers are saying there isn’t enough support in their conference to move forward with the funding.
The Senate’s rule keeper said over the weekend that $1 billion could not be included in the bill under the Senate rules. Even though some Republicans initially said they’d redraft the measure, a number of GOP senators came out forcefully against the $1 billion allocation and threatened to tank the entire bill if it was not removed.
Democrats were expected to call up a number of amendment votes to try to strip the ballroom funding out of the bill. Those amendments only would have needed the support of four Republicans and likely would have passed.
President Donald Trump speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters, Sept. 22, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said during his speech to global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday that he has a “big decision” to make: to strike a deal with Iran to end the war or to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness.”
“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Trump said.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Trump added.
The president’s message comes as a core Iranian delegation traveled to New York for the gathering of world leaders.
Since the war began nearly seven months ago the president has made repeated threats to launch devastating attacks on Iran, only to pull back in hopes of a deal. He has backed off large threats on at least eight occasions.
The president has claimed that he is not on any timeline and told reporters that the upcoming midterm elections do not impact his strategy. On Tuesday, Trump said in his speech that he doesn’t believe there will be an agreement before the midterm elections.
“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to. They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election,” Trump said.
But later, Trump claimed that he will “get it done” fast when it comes to Iran.
“In addition, the United States and Iran will definitely get it done. We will get it done, one way or the other. It’s going to be done. It’s got to be done fast,” Trump added.
The president also pushed back on assertions that the U.S. is low on munitions despite a Pentagon report acknowledging the war with Iran created a shortage.
“The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low and munitions, but that’s not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we’re building them at levels that we have never done before. We are adding to our stockpiles faster than we have ever been able to do before,” Trump said.
The president seemed to make his case for the war as the impacts reverberate across the globe, once again pointing to the history of terrorism and oppression by the Iranian regime.
“As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day,” the president said.
“I do not believe in letting problems fester. They only become harder to solve. So while others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them,” Trump added.
The president also thanked the UN for its support for a resolution to say that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. He also made the case to European allies that his decision to go to war with Iran would also protect them, saying he hoped those nations “realized that.”
The president, after making the case for the war, then urged global leaders to show unity — and promised that crushing oil prices will fall as soon as the war ends.
“If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51-year menace of Iranian terror, and oil prices will come plummeting down even lower than they were at the start of the conflict. And they were very low in the United States. They were really low. With courage and resolve, anything is possible,” Trump said.
The average gallon of regular is $4.46 a gallon — around $1.52 more since the start of the war; diesel is at $6.51 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Trump asserts U.S. dominance over Western Hemisphere
Trump threatened other countries during his speech, asserting American dominance over the Western Hemisphere.
The president took aim at the United States’ neighbors to the south, including Cuba, saying that his administration is “seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba.”
“Marco Rubio is handling a negotiation. He’s deep into negotiations with Cuba. Let’s see what happens. We’ll not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep,” the president said, as the Cuban delegation rose from their seats to exit the assembly hall.
Trump touted his administration’s collaboration with the regime of Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who rose to power after the U.S.-led ouster of Nicolas Maduro. The two are set to meet Tuesday evening.
Trump highlighted that the U.S. signed an oil deal with the Rodriguez regime in August, which he has claimed will drive down gas prices around the world.
The president also promoted the United States’ unilateral strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, comparing drug cartels to “the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.”
“Upon taking office, I designated the drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and unleashed the United States Armed forces to eliminate them,” Trump said.
Trump also noted that he struck a new agreement with Greenland, which he said would give the U.S. greater control over the island.
“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent, and also Europe and other places,” Trump said of the agreement.
Trump signed the security deal with the prime ministers of Greenland and Denmark later Tuesday.
Trump said he won’t ‘rein in’ artificial intelligence development
As lawmakers and tech leaders express concerns about artificial intelligence and its rapid growth, Trump said that the U.S. will “encourage” AI development, instead of “rein it in.”
“Other law enforcement bodies that will rein things in if we have to do that, but we will only encourage super-intelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in. We’re going to watch it closely through the Department of Justice,” Trump said.
Trump, who said he would rebrand “artificial intelligence” as “super-intelligence,” repeated his message that the U.S. leads China on AI development — and that “whoever wins super-intelligence wins.”
“I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, many say bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the internet itself,” Trump said.
