Justice Department tells court Kennedy Center is nearly out of money; Post details its finances

Justice Department lawyers told a federal appeals court that the Kennedy Center is "already in a state of collapse both financially and physically". 1 They said the center could pay its bills this month only because of $17 million raised by President Donald Trump, and that the money is "fast being expended". 1 2 The filing said the center loses tens of millions of dollars a year and is projected to lose around $100 million annually. 1

The Washington Post, as summarised by Raw Story, reviewed confidential board documents and tax filings showing the Trump-appointed leadership has borrowed its full credit line and taken money from an endowment donors meant to stay untouched. 2 According to that reporting, the center took $10 million from the Washington National Opera's $10.3 million endowment, and the opera has since cut ties and is disputing who owes whom. 2 Ticket revenue fell 15 percent and donations nearly a quarter in the fiscal year ended September 2025, and the center expects ticket income to fall by more than two-thirds this year. 2

Trump has said the center was losing hundreds of millions of dollars when he took over, but experts told the Post the prior leadership left it in better shape than in most pre-pandemic years. 2 The Kennedy Center declined to answer the Post's questions; its officials have said it is only "temporarily" closing to assess deterioration. 2 1 On Monday night, Republican Sen. Mike Lee blocked a bipartisan bill, led by Sens. Jeff Merkley and Lisa Murkowski, to bar demolition of presidential memorials. 1

On September 17 a federal judge ordered at least 30 days' notice before any physical changes, after the board voted to close the venue for repairs. 1