Donald Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board has voted to shut down the Washington performing arts venue with immediate effect, citing severe financial trouble and structural decay. The closure came just hours after a federal judge blocked the board's separate plan to rename the building after Trump, and reportedly followed a heated call in which Trump berated Democratic trustee Joyce Beatty for allowing the dispute to reach the courts. The move matters because it pits the Trump-appointed leadership's efforts to remake and rename the storied cultural institution against legal challenges, while raising questions over the venue's future and its ability to keep operating.

Trustees pointed to a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer earlier this month as justification, saying the director and a structural consultant deemed the building unsafe for continued occupancy. It is the third time since February that the board has sought to close the centre for a proposed two-year renovation, having previously set a shutdown date of 5 July that stalled amid litigation. Court filings warn the Kennedy Center could soon be unable to meet payroll or maintenance costs, with Trump reportedly offering to help raise funds to avert bankruptcy; last month the board had also voted to rename the site "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" before the renaming bid was blocked in court.