WASHINGTON — A Democratic congresswoman asked for an emergency court hearing into the closure of the Kennedy Center, suggesting the move may violate a court order against an earlier attempt to shutter the Washington performing arts venue.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board’s decision to physically shutter the facility, while a court order against its closure remains in effect, “may be violating the ‘clear and unambiguous order of the Court,’” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said in a Wednesday motion.

Beatty, an ex-officio trustee of the venue, asked a Washington federal judge to set a hearing “to address this apparent violation” and to require that a “high-level decision-maker” for the center be required to attend.

The emergency hearing request is the latest development in the ongoing legal fight over the fate of the Kennedy Center, which was created by Congress to honor the late President John F. Kennedy after his assassination and opened in 1971.

The congresswoman’s request came one day after the Kennedy Center board, whose members were handpicked by President Donald Trump, voted again to close the facility for two years during renovations and repairs that center leadership has said are necessary for safety.

Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper in May temporarily blocked the Kennedy Center board from closing the venue following an earlier attempt. But the judge left room in that ruling for the board to vote again after considering more information.

Hours before Tuesday’s board vote to close the center, a Justice Department lawyer indicated during a court hearing that the government would move this week to lift Cooper’s May order once the closure was approved.

However, before the Justice Department filed any motion to lift the May order, the building was closed to the public, according to Beatty.

Beatty received reports that the closure was announced over the loudspeakers in the building. And on Wednesday morning, an employee for a law firm with Beatty’s legal team was blocked from entering the center during its business hours and told by security staff it was closed to the public, according to her request.

A Kennedy Center spokesperson said on the social media platform X on Wednesday that infrastructure issues “require an immediate closure” of the center’s main building.

Cooper ordered the Justice Department to respond to Beatty’s request by Thursday morning.

The case is one of several challenging Trump’s efforts to leave his visual mark on Washington’s historic landmarks, from building a sprawling new White House ballroom to proposing a 250-foot Triumphal Arch.

The Kennedy Center board, chaired by Trump, has also sought to rename the center for the current president, most recently in the form of a stated acknowledgment of his contributions to the venue on the historic building’s facade.

Cooper on Tuesday ruled that the board can’t add Trump’s name to the building under federal law requiring the center to be a memorial only to Kennedy. Cooper earlier blocked the board from renaming the center to “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” The Justice Department has appealed Cooper’s rulings.

Meanwhile, Trump and the board have insisted that the building is facing financial collapse and that Trump’s involvement is needed to save the venue.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday that renovations to the center won’t move forward if courts continue to block his name from being added to the building.

The case is Beatty v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-04480, motion filed 9/16/26.

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