Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Kennedy Center, released the following statement after Trump announced a multi-year closure of the Kennedy Center:

President Trump’s decision to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts underscores the profound damage he’s done to this iconic institution. Setting aside the sheer financial incompetence, his callous disregard for the history, mission, and legacy of the Kennedy Center is appalling. From firing the board of Trustees and installing himself as chair, to using political litmus tests to determine programming, to the outrageous and illegal attempt to rename it the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” the president is making every effort to turn this American treasure into yet another vehicle for his own political vanity.

Trump has failed the Center’s workers, performers, and supporters from the very beginning of his takeover last year. Subscriptions have plummeted. Ticket sales are cratering. Artists are cancelling shows and refusing invitations. Rather than see these trends as a clear sign to reverse course, Trump now wants to close the Center for two years while he makes “major renovations”—presumably without any input or oversight from Congress.

Let’s not forget: the Kennedy Center was recently given $256 million in the Big Ugly Bill, which is nearly six times its typical allocation, plus another $37 million in the annual appropriations bill. Despite repeated calls for transparency and clarity about their plans with that exorbitant amount of money, Trump and his sycophants now in charge of the Center have given Congress next to nothing.

Considering it took less than 24 hours for him to plaster his name on the building, and that he demolished the East Wing of the White House in a matter of days without proper approval, it’s entirely possible that Trump could decide to just bulldoze the entire Center to remake it in his own tacky image. Just look at what he’s done to the Rose Garden and the Oval Office. Congress has a duty to step in.

The Kennedy Center is a living monument to a man who fervently believed in the emancipatory power of art and culture. It’s a legacy our current president clearly doesn’t understand—and has no right to usurp for himself.

Pingree, who is co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus, has led the charge in Congress to save the Kennedy Center from Trump after he took it over last year. Pingree demanded answers and transparency from Richard Grenell, a Trump ally who was installed as President of the Kennedy Center, about how the $256 million requested, and later approved in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, would be spent.

In December, Pingree led more than 70 Members of Congress in calling on President Trump to reverse the illegal renaming effort and remove his name from the building.

As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Pingree successfully removed language from the 2026 Appropriations bill that would have renamed the Opera House after Melania Trump.