The federal judge who temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for renovations ordered the institution on Tuesday to provide an update within three days on how it intends to operate if the center remains open beyond July 4.
U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper directed the Kennedy Center to submit a status report outlining plans for public access, programming, activities, and operations if the venue remains open beyond the July 4 closure date proposed by President Donald Trump, reports The New York Times on Wednesday.
Cooper's order comes as the Kennedy Center continues to challenge his earlier ruling suspending a plan to shut down the center for two years for what Trump described as "Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding."
The Kennedy Center's board, composed largely of Trump allies, recently voted to appeal another Cooper ruling that found the renaming of the institution after Trump was unlawful.
That appeal followed unsuccessful efforts by the Kennedy Center to delay a court-ordered removal of Trump's name from the building's facade.
Both the district court and a federal appeals court declined to pause the order while the appeal proceeds.
Workers removed Trump's name from the building early Saturday after erecting scaffolding and tarps around the facade.
In his late May ruling blocking the closure plan, Cooper said board members had failed to adequately review Trump's directive and did not fully consider the potential consequences of shutting down the center.
"The board based its decision on an insufficient, one-sided presentation of information and neglected to consider the full range of its statutory obligations and potential adverse consequences of closure on programming and memorial functions," Cooper wrote.
The judge said the board could still proceed with a two-year closure if it conducted a more thorough review and reached a "considered, independent decision."
The Kennedy Center has been preparing for a shutdown since February, laying off staff, canceling several touring Broadway productions, and encouraging the National Symphony Orchestra to seek alternate venues.
The center's summer calendar currently shows limited programming, including free outdoor film screenings on some July weekends.
At its first meeting following Cooper's ruling, the board did not take another vote on whether to close the center.
Lawyers representing the Trump administration and the Kennedy Center have maintained that the building's condition requires urgent action.
In a court filing, a Justice Department attorney said visitors face safety risks under current conditions.
"People entering the Building under present conditions will be in serious danger, and risk of injury, or beyond," the filing stated. "Certain areas are already roped off for this reason."
The filing also described the facility as being in poor condition and cited maintenance concerns.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the Kennedy Center's request for an emergency stay of Cooper's order but said it would consider the government's broader appeal in the coming weeks.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board.
Beatty questioned whether the proposed closure was intended to obscure declining attendance and artist boycotts that she said followed Trump's takeover of the institution.
Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center's executive director and the administration's point person on the renovation effort, has defended the proposed closure, citing maintenance issues including water leaks, aging equipment, and deteriorating exterior marble.
He has said a two-year shutdown is the most responsible way to address the problems.