The Kennedy Center shutdown lawsuit took another turn on Friday, when the Department of Justice told the DC District Court that the venue is still not taking affirmative steps to schedule performances or hire programming staff. For audiences and artists, that means no arts programming will be offered for the time being while the court keeps pressing the center to stay open.
Joyce Beatty and Judge Christopher Cooper
The filing lands after Judge Christopher Cooper required the Kennedy Center on June 16 to document its compliance and to provide plans for public access and ongoing programming, activities, and operations after July 5, 2026. Cooper had already blocked the board from moving forward with its planned closure, leaving the preliminary injunction in place and the center under continuing court oversight.
Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty’s legal team pushed for a harder remedy. It asked the court to require the Kennedy Center to immediately begin booking programming and to document those efforts weekly, arguing that a venue cannot stay open in practice if it stops building a schedule.
DOJ Status Report
The Department of Justice said in its joint status report that "Center management has not yet taken any affirmative steps related to programming or staffing" and that it "did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming." That reading gives the center room to wait, even as the court order keeps the building open and available to the public.
Nathaniel Zelinsky said the government’s position "appears to be clearly in defiance of the court’s order," adding that "The court required the Kennedy Center to remain open" and that "But in order to remain open and operational, they have to book meaningful programming." Beatty’s team went further, writing that by refusing to take any steps to maintain the center’s operations, administrators will "effectively close the Center as a performing arts venue come July 5, 2026—contrary to the Court’s preliminary injunction order."
Mid-July Meeting
The Kennedy Center’s board plans to meet in mid-July and review several options for renovating the building, including a full closure while renovations occur. The Justice Department also said decisions on programming and staffing will not be made until after that meeting, and that the center will maintain its current operations, including continued public access to its public spaces and to the living memorial for President Kennedy.
For now, the practical takeaway is simple: the court order has kept the Kennedy Center open, but the programming calendar is still frozen. If the board uses its mid-July meeting to keep the closure option alive, the dispute will stay centered on whether an open building without a booked stage is really open at all.
