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Judge in Kennedy Center case orders Trump administration to explain closure plans
Judge Christopher Cooper gave the Trump administration until Thursday to justify a $257 million Kennedy Center renovation and closure plan.
On Thursday, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered President Donald Trump's administration to explain whether the Kennedy Center's plan to close for two years for repairs violates a prior court order.
The board, chaired by Trump and controlled by his appointees, voted Tuesday to proceed with the $257 million renovation, prompting Representative Joyce Beatty to argue the vote violates a prior court ruling.
Judge Cooper previously blocked an earlier shutdown, ruling it "was taken in dereliction of the trustees' duty of prudence," and he recently rejected the center's effort to rename the building after Trump.
Beatty's lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, stated, "The board cannot simply ignore Judge Cooper's rulings whenever it suits them," while Trump claimed on social media the center "is destined to doom" without repairs.
New barriers were visible outside the building on Wednesday; the White House, the Justice Department, and the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the dispute.