Rep. Beatty calls it "outrageous" that courts must protect the Kennedy Center from "getting bulldozed by the President"
Joyce BeattyUnited States Representative for Ohio's 3rd district, ex officio Kennedy Center trustee and plaintiff in Beatty v. Trump, in a statement reported by CNBC
In a statement issued after Judge Christopher Cooper's 2026-09-17 order, Rep. Joyce Beatty said it is "simply outrageous" that things have reached "the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President". She added that she will continue to fight for the rule of law and defend the memorial on behalf of the American people.
“It is simply outrageous that we have gotten to the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President”
Original text
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Donald Trump link the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration?
On September 15, 2026, a federal judge barred the Kennedy Center board, chaired by Donald Trump, from inscribing "renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump" on its main building or renaming the grounds for him. The board then voted to close the main building, and Trump posted that renovation "cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board's approved name" and "will not take place" if that ruling is negative and not overturned. In Charlotte on September 16 he said the administration "should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down." The White House says the center will "inevitably continue to decline" without his intervention; Rep. Joyce Beatty's lawyers wrote that Trump said "if he is not recognized on the building, it will close and be ripped down." The dispute is over whether the renovation should depend on recognition for Trump's administration and what his remarks mean.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
CourtListener mirror of the PACER docket; the docket page shows the entries and the full text of the minute order. The ECF 85 PDF quotes Trump's 2026-09-16 remarks and describes the placard photograph. Used for the context sentences only.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
News report (published 2026-09-17 14:22 UTC, modified 20:22 UTC; the headline shown is the current one, and the same URL earlier carried a different headline). It attributes the sentence to a statement by Beatty and confirms the same-day sequence: her Thursday-morning notice to the court, Cooper's denial of an emergency hearing and his 30-day notice order. CNBC's own text calls Trump's remark a 'threat'; that is CNBC's characterization and is not adopted in the record.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
On the morning of 2026-09-17 Beatty's lawyers filed a notice with the court quoting Trump's 2026-09-16 remarks to reporters about the Kennedy Center project and describing a photograph circulating on social media that appears to show a placard reading "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED". The same day Judge Cooper denied her request for an emergency hearing but ordered the defendants to give more than 30 days' written notice before any change to the project plans, including any "demolition" of the main building, and to file a sworn status report by 2026-09-23.
After the quotation
On 2026-09-18 the defendants moved to vacate or dissolve the court's May 29, 2026 preliminary injunction and for partial summary judgment (ECF 88 and 89). Their sworn status report on the center's "temporary closure" is due 2026-09-23.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Beatty, whose lawyers put the Charlotte remarks before the court earlier that day, calls it "simply outrageous" that things have reached "the point of consistent judicial intervention to protect this historic institution from getting bulldozed by the President", an express criticism of the President's conduct toward the building. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because "bulldozed" also describes what she says is being done to the building. That loses because she does not stop at disputing a description: she calls the situation outrageous and, in the same statement, says she will continue to fight.
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More from this case
Read the full caseSheldon Whitehouse says Trump appointees' conduct is hard to square with the board's fiduciary duty
“Not easy to see how any of this behavior of Trump appointees comports with the board’s fiduciary duty to the Center.”Read statement
Dechicchis criticizes putting recognition ahead of improvements
“In Trump’s mind, if he doesn’t get the recognition he feels he deserves, there’s no point in continuing improvements on the center.”Read statement
Kerry Kennedy says Congress already funded the Kennedy Center's restoration and tells Trump "That's not your job"
“this is the memorial created by the United States Congress to a slain president. So, putting Trump's name on it would be like renaming the Washington Monument the Trump Washington Monument or the Trump Lincoln Memorial or the Trump Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. ... And their argument is they're not -- there is not money for it. But in the Big Beautiful Bill, they -- the Congress passed $246 million in order to restore the Kennedy Center. So that's just not true. ... So President Trump, do your job. Focus on the people's pain and the work that you're supposed to do in the -- in the Oval Office and not on the Kennedy Center. That's not your job.”Read statement
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- Rep. Beatty calls it "outrageous" that courts must protect the Kennedy Center from "getting bulldozed by the President"
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The Dispute Index. "Rep. Beatty calls it "outrageous" that courts must protect the Kennedy Center from "getting bulldozed by the President"". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1174-in-a-statement-issued-after-judge-christopher-cooper