The Kennedy Center leadership group is warning it could go bankrupt and would be forced to close on Sept. 15.

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post and The New York Times, the Kennedy Center’s current leadership argued that the institution faces “certain fiscal collapse” unless the president’s name is added back to its facade.

The warning appeared in a 57-page packet that was distributed to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees. According to the document, the leadership group claims that within a few weeks the institution will not be able to pay employees or meet maintenance costs and notes that the center is at risk of bankruptcy. However, President Trump is offering to step in and raise the necessary funds to help the institution survive.

This is the latest attempt at renaming the Kennedy Center after Trump. Earlier this month a portion of the Kennedy Center’s Grand Foyer collapsed after a storm and leadership claimed that the collapse was “Another warning we can’t ignore…” and “Chairman President Trump has been right: America’s cultural center needs to close, renovate, and be restored—now.”

It also comes after a judge delayed the renaming of the Kennedy Center and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inferred that the Performing Arts Center would eventually be demolished.

The Kennedy Center board has been on mission to rename the building for the past two years and voted on August 13 to add an inscription below the Kennedy Center’s sign that says the venue was “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board also intends to add another reference to Trump if an endowment reaches $100 million. The Kennedy Center leadership also plans to rename the physical site that the building sits on in honor of Trump.

In December 2025, the board of the Kennedy Center renamed the Performing Arts Center after Trump but was eventually forced to take his name down because the name change violated the law.

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